Finding Peace
by Babys2245
Summary: After a horrible tragic, Troy Bolton tries to pick up the remaining pieces of his life. Along the way he meets Taylor McKessie a girl who has suffered just like him in the past. Can they find their way towards peace together?
1. Chapter 1

I don't own anything.

A/N: Okay I know it's been a long. . .long. . .long time since I posted for the 1st couple on my fanfiction mantle, and I'm sorry for that. I've really been struggling with writer's block towards this couple for a while now. I don't know what happened, maybe I just for a moment ran out of ideas. All I know is, this story is the one that really lasted. I won't even tell you how many times I wrote chapters and started story files and then erased them cause I didn't like them and couldn't see myself finishing the project. So, I hope everyone likes this new Traylor story, and please drop a review and tell me if I should continue.

BabyS

Chapter One

"Alright gentlemen, show me that you guys can run these plays without me having to stop you," Jack Bolton shouted out as he walked away from the varsity basketball team. He headed towards the middle of the floor and turned around to look at them. "I wanna see if you guys can get this done, do it and we'll be heading home earlier for tonight." He stated as he lifted his whistle to his lips, Jack allowed his eyes to drift over everyone of his players before landing on his son Troy, who stood near the back of the large group. "The playoffs are right around the corner and I need you guys focused and prepared," he blew the whistled and tossed the ball out to Mark Hudson his starting shooting guard. "Let's go." he shouted as he crossed his arms over his chest. The team immediately began running the play, teams of five would come out onto the court and run through the play five teams before the next group stepped onto the court. Jack Bolton stood out at center court with his assistant coach, his eyes narrowed as he watched his players. Calming taking in minor mistakes that he would correct later and mentally checking things off that they did correctly.

Troy Bolton stood in the back of the group silently dreading the moment it was time for his group to take the floor. He had been in a love and hate relationship with basketball since the moment his father had written his name on the list. Most of the players at the beginning thought it was nothing more than a simple case of him getting privileges because he was his father's son. It had taken him a little over a month to prove himself to the upperclassmen on the time that, even though he was a lowly freshmen, he was still good enough to wear the Varsity wildcat jersey. However, the worst part about being on the team happened to be that he was the coach's son. It was hard, because his father's attitude towards him was slowly killing his love for the game. Mostly because when it came to his father everything he did had to be basketball related or his father would become upset with him. He wouldn't even attempt to count the times he had been forced to stay behind and shoot a few hundred free throws or lay-ups all because he had missed a few during practice. His mother had tried to tell his father that he was pushing him to hard but that just went over his father's head.

Closing his eyes and sending up a silent pray that this went okay, Troy anxiously stepped onto the court ready to run the play with his squadmates. Moving quickly to his spot underneath the basketball he waited for Jacob Rawlins to smack the ball, which signaled that the play was live. He watched as Jacob smacked the ball and then looked towards Joseph Sullivan who was moving towards him to set the screen. As soon as Joseph was set, he cut around him quickly and up towards the high wing area of the court with his hands out ready to receive the basketball, instead what he heard was his father's whistle. Stopping in his tracks he looked towards his father who was standing there just shaking his head in disgust. "What type of cut for the ball was that Troy?" he shouted his voice thundering through the gym, as he took his whistle from his mouth and stared down his son from his position across the court. "Are you serious?" he asked in disbelief. Troy only sighed and lowered his head as his father continued speaking. "Would you run the play like that in a game with the win on the line." Jack asked again, as he looked at his son who only lifted his head and stared back at him. "Well would you?"

"No sir." he mumbled with a shake of his head, hoping that his father would just let them run the play again. He didn't want this to escalate into another long night in the gym, something he knew his father wasn't against doing. Jack tilted his head at his son's answer and then raised his arms to his side as if he was mentally done.

"Then why," he paused for what Troy only believed was dramatic effect. "Then why are you running it like that in my practice, Troy." Jack asked his voice ending in complete bewilderment. "We practice like we what gentleman." Jack asked looking over Troy and towards his teammates who were all watching the incident silently.

"Play." the team chorus out.

"Like me play," Jack repeated as he looked back at Troy. "We practice like we play, on this team Troy. I don't need lackadaisical players, I need players that will and are going to give their all in practices and during the game. No, does it both ways on the Pro level and it won't be done on the wildcat court," he walked over towards his son and stared him down. Lifting a finger he pointed it towards Troy's chest. "If I can't trust you during practice how do you expect me to trust you during a close game with the season on the line." Lifting his head, Troy looked up at his father who simply stood before him, staring him down as if he had actually started this whole confrontation. Glancing around he could see the other players watching him and his father. Most of them holding nothing in their eyes but pity for him, and that was only because they knew that Jack did this all the time, that he got on Troy all the time for the tiniest infraction.

"I'm sorry Coach," Troy stated with a sigh. "It won't happen again." Jack raised an eyebrow at his son for a brief moment before nodding his head in agreement.

"You're right it won't-give me a mile." Troy's mouth dropped opened in utter shock as he looked at his father and then back towards the rest of the team.

"But-you can't be serious, all I did was just not cut hard enough towards the ball. That can be done again." Troy stated, disbelief coloring his tone fully as he looked towards his father who just stood them watching him.

"I know it can be done again, but not in a game. They would have just intercepted the ball. So maybe so laps will you remember that on my court we run fast for everything," he paused and looked down his nose at Troy. "Not just for water." Troy felt his cheeks burn bright with embarrassment as he looked at his father, who was now walking away from him. Jack paused for only a second before turning and looking towards Troy one last time. "Now go and get started. I want to see you run through this play again before practice ends." Jack stated dismissively as he turned his attention back to the rest of the team. "Someone get out here and take over Troy's position," Troy stood there for a few minutes watching his father to stunned even move. Unfortunately, for him his father saw that he hadn't and called him on it. "Is there a problem?" He all but snapped as he looked over at his son, who simply stared back at him.

"No sir there isn't." Troy mumbled as he looked at his father for a brief second before turning around and heading for the outer edges of the court. He gave his father one last look before he started to run his laps. As soon as he started running his father resumed practice, while Troy tried to bring down the rage he was currently feeling at that moment towards his father.

Later on after practice, Troy walked into the locker room and give his locker a hard punch, he watched as the locker bent inward hardly noticing the looks that several of his teammates sent his way. Taking several deep breaths, he clenched his fists and tried to think of anything other than his father and how angry the man made him. He was suddenly pulled from his thoughts, as someone placed a hand on his shoulder. "Man don't let him get you down, you know he just expects the most out of us out there." Troy released a humorless laugh as he looked up at Joseph Sullivan the only upperclassman he was really close too, the only one he would call a good friend on the team.

"Yeah sure, he just expects the most out of me out there. You guys don't have him coming down on your for every little thing." Troy muttered as he turned around to look the other boy in the face. Joseph just sighed and sat down on the bench behind him as Troy continued to look at her.

"You're good man, real good. This whole basketball thing is something you're real good at and maybe he's just trying to get you to be your best." Joseph tried to tell him with a sigh.

"Push me, no man he tries to humiliate me out there every afternoon, every freaking practice. I cough during a drill and I run laps. I jog to position during a play demonstration when though everyone else does it and I'm the one he yells out. No, he's not trying to get me to be the best I can be." Troy harshly whispered, not wanting everyone else to overhear their conversation. Joseph just nodded his head as he looked up at Troy before speaking up.

"Look, I've been on your father's team since day one. He must think you're good enough. He didn't put you on the JV team for a reason. You could have been with them playing meaningless games getting your skills up but instead your father chose to but you on this team because he knows you can handle it. He pulled you up here so you can compete against good competition each and every night. He doesn't let you ride the bench, he actually plays you more than Kyle and he's a senior." Joseph reasoned yet again as he looked at his friend. Troy sighed and shrugged his shoulders and shook his head as he thought over what Joseph had just told him.

"Man I don't know." he finally said. Joseph just sighed and pushed himself up from the sofa. He looked at Troy for a moment and spoke up.

"Well I hope you figure it out. Your dad cares about you. I think the only reason he really pushes you is because he sees you doing something that he doesn't see anyone else on the team achieving. Think about that, hell just ask him about it," he stated with a sigh. "Look man I just thought I'd come here and tell you what I thought. See you tomorrow night alright." Troy only nodded his head and returned his gaze towards his locker. Joseph gave him one last look before heading out for the night. Troy stood there for a few more minutes before heading into the shower intent on getting clean before riding home with his father which would probably only result in a fifteen minute screaming match in the car. As he turned on the shower head, Mark Hudson he was standing in the other stall washing up as well and spoke up.

"Man that was some harsh stuff out there tonight." Troy turned to give him a look, but Mark only raised his hand for a brief second and sighed. "I'm not trying to start anything with you Troy, just stating the obvious." Troy raised an eyebrow at that and looked at the other man for a second.

"Is there a reason for all of that, I mean you hardly talk to me." Troy stated with a sigh, Mark just sighed and nodded his head.

"I was going to invite you out to a party man. Me and a chuckle of other guys on the team or heading out for the night and after that awful display out there," he stated jerking his thumb over his shoulder towards the direction of the court. "I just thought maybe you'd like a night out as well." Troy turned away from him and thought things over for a minute. He certainly didn't feel like staying here for over an hour or fighting with his father tonight. Turning back around, he looked at Mark.

"Sure man that sounds good but you do know that I can't drive."

"Of course I know man," Mark stated with a grin. "Don't worry about all that. I'll drive you there and drive you back." Mark turned off the shower and grabbed his towel. "Just meet me outside I'll be waiting out there." Troy nodded his head and watched as Mark left the room. Once he was alone he finished washing up and decided that he was going to try and have fun at the party.

It was nearly twenty minutes later when Troy finally came out of the room fully dressed and ready to start his night of partying. The gym for the most part was deserted except for few players that were currently saying good-bye to his father who was sitting in the bleachers. Troy waited till they were gone before walking out of the locker room. He didn't spare his father a glance as he quickly made his way towards the exit, but he should have known that it wouldn't have been that easy.

"Where do you think you're going, Troy?" His father called out as he stepped down the bleachers and walked towards him. Turning around on his heel, Troy looked at his father while still moving towards the door. He just couldn't take it anymore, he couldn't take his father's voice, his attitude. He was just tired of it all and he just need space. He needed peace.

"Away." he called out simply. "Away from you." Jack was storming over towards him, but Troy for his part didn't stop heading towards the door. As he pulled opened the gym's doors, his father quickly called out to him from his position across the court.

"No, I don't think that's going to work. I-We need to go over some more things. The team has a game in less than four days and I don't think you'll be ready for-."

"I'm leaving, Dad." Troy stated firmly cutting his father off, as he hoped that Mark was still out there waiting for him so they could head out to the party. His father released a heavy sigh as he glared at his son with only the symbol of the wildcat separating them from one another at the moment. Troy studied his father for a moment before shaking his head. "Look, Dad. I'm tired alright," he paused and tossed his hands up above his head to prove the point. "I'm tired and I'm going out tonight for some type of relaxation. I have other things to do just like the rest of my teammates. A life to live, and I won't waste here with you in this damn gym running ghosts drills for you until you like it." he snapped out angrily as he looked at his father, whose eyes were now narrowed into slits. Jack shook his head and pointed towards his son.

"You aren't going to this party."

"I'm going to this party." Troy countered, just as quickly as he looked at his father. If his father wanted a fight, well he'd give him one with just a bit of truth on the side. He was sick and tired off all this shit. Sick and tired of his father pushing him forward when all he really wanted to do was stay in place for just a damn moment.

"No you aren't."

"Yes I am." Troy replied back sharply as he looked over at his father as if he had lost his damn mind. "I need to relax, you know unwind," he twirled his hand in the arm as he looked at his father, "from the hell that you put me through today." Jack clenched his jaw as he looked at his son for a moment before shaking his head.

"Look son is this about you having to run laps," Jack stated calmly as he looked at him. "I mean really, if this is all that this is-."

"It's about everything." Troy shouted out loudly as he looked at his father, his blue eyes flashing dangerously as he looked at his father. "It's about every damn thing. You've always been on my damn back, you're always knocking me down, killing my confidence and for what. . .not because I'm some crazy kid bent on during dangerous, stupid things. Not because I'm some drug user or something. No you do all because of basketball," Troy stated with a shake of his head as he looked at him. "You know what I'm just glad that I have Mom, I'm glad that you actually married a woman that isn't as basketball crazy as you, because Mom she understands me, understands that my life doesn't revolve around basketball. She cares about me a lot more than you ever did or will. . . or whatever," he shouted his chest rising and falling as he glared at the man before him. Lifting a hand, he ran it through his hard as he glared at the man. "All I can say is thank you God for her, cause I don't know what I'd do if-." Troy paused then and shook his head. He didn't feel like he needed to go further. He was pretty sure, his father got the point. Jack just stared after his son a little bit longer before shrugging his shoulders. The older man actually looked broken as he studied his son. Looking down at the wildcat symbol that separated him from his son, Jack studied it for a moment as Troy watched him silently. After a few minutes, Jack looked back up at his son and sighed.

"Fine son, you wanna go out. You wanna go out and party. Rebel over some bullshit ass reason because you think I treat you to rough out here on this court. Fine," Jack spat out angrily as he looked at him. "Fine go out and while you're at it get the hell out of my sight."

Troy looked up at the other students gathered around the small group therapy session, he didn't really want to continue with his story, he had been over it so much in the last few months that he was just sick of retelling it, remembering it and just thinking about it. He looked towards the man in charge and just looked away. "That was the last conversation that I had with my father." he muttered as he looked at his pants leg. "That's my last memory of him." The group was quiet as Troy finished his sentence, Troy continued to look at the floor, refusing to look up until he was sure his eyes were filled with tears. Finally he released a small sniff and looked back up his blue eyes meeting the therapist's eyes. "And that's why I'm here, because my mom thinks I need help getting over this, or getting past it or whatever." he finished softly with a shrug of his shoulders. The man only nodded his head as he looked at him before glancing around at the other students.

"Thank you for sharing that with us, Troy." Almost immediately as custom, the rest of the class thanked him for sharing as well. Troy just looked them all over and then looked back down tired of sharing and tired of being there. "I think that ends our session for this week, next week we'll pair off in groups with old members helping some of the new members with ways to cope. Our senior members in the group can really help some of you new guys get through the pain. That's what we do here for one another. We help each other as a team get through things." The rest of the class just nodded and then stood up. Troy quickly pushed himself out of his chair and grabbed his bag, he was pretty sure his mother was going to be outside waiting for him like she had done everyday so far since he had joined the group therapy sessions. "Troy." looking up he saw the doctor walking towards him. Reaching out he placed his hand on Troy's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Yes Dr. Patterson."

"I'm glad you shared with us today. I'm glad you took that step and joined out little group. I know things are hard but-."

"Can you please-just don't." Troy muttered as he held his hand up and looked at the man. Dr. Patterson only nodded his head for a moment and sent Troy a small smile as he studied the boy before him.

"Alright then," Dr. Patterson said with a sigh. "See you next week." Troy just nodded his head and picked up his book bag and headed towards the door. As he neared the door, someone called his name. Turning around expecting, yet another attempt by Dr. Patterson to be his 'friend,' he was surprised to see a short African American girl looking up at him. Her light brown eyes went over him, before she spoke up.

"I'm glad you joined the group, I thought you'd just sit over there in the corner forever." she stated bluntly as she looked at him, Troy's mouth dropped open at her words as he stared down at her. The girl gave him a soft smile as she stared up at him for a moment before pressing on. "I know that you don't want to hear this, but I'm truly sorry for what you're going through." Before Troy could say another word, the girl hightailed it out of the room. He stood there for a few moments, just looking towards the door she had left through before shaking his head.

"Whatever." he mumbled as he walked through the door, as he exited the small building, he saw the girl climbing into the back of a nice upscale car. He paused on the sidewalk and watched as the pulled out of the parking just as his mother pulled up. He quickly got into the car, and buckled up his seatbelt not wanting to upset his mother and settled back in the seat. Once his mother looked him over, she pulled off into the steady flow of traffic. The ride was silence for a little while before his mother began speaking her voice soft.

"So?" Lillian Bolton asked as she looked over at her son, he was busy staring out the window. "How was it?"

"I shared today," Troy mumbled around the hand he had over his mouth. "That's about it." he finished as he turned to look at his mother, whose eyes had watered a bit at his words. He looked towards his mother, he didn't want to be cold with her. She was all he had left, and he certainly didn't want to push her away. "How was your dad?"

"It was fine, I suppose." Lillian whispered, and by the look in her eyes. Troy could tell that she had spent some time today down at the gravesite, spending a little time with her late husband. Otherwise, she wouldn't have answered him.

"That's good mama." Troy whispered as he returned his gaze to the front of the car. Lillian just nodded and focusing her attention on driving.

"You know the school called me, they wanted to know if you would be attempting to finish this year up so you can be with your friends during your sophomore year." Troy just shook his head as he looked at his mother.

"I don't think that's going to happen."

"They have a plan that will help you. I believe they said something about a tutor. I think you should do it, Troy. Try to keep up with school, . . .that's what he would have-." she paused her lips trembled as she tried to finish her sentence. Troy reached out and laid a hand on his mother as they pulled up to a red light.

"I understand and I'll do it." he whispered softly as he looked at her. "Don't worry I won't let you down." he stated with a determine glint in his eye that hadn't been there since before his father had passed. In fact the last time he had, had that look in his eye. He had told his father exactly what he thought of him. Troy immediately pushed back the thought and returned his attention back to his mother.

"I'll finish this year on top mama. I think we're due something good." he murmured softly as he looked at her. Lillian looked over at him for a moment before shaking her head.

"Don't you want to see your friends?" she asked softly as she glanced at her son, who only shook his head.

"I really don't feel like seeing anybody. I'd rather start next year if I feel like it." he murmured with a shrug of his shoulders. Lillian just nodded her head, she certainly didn't want to push her son into anything he wasn't ready for. They were both healing, and she didn't want to make what little progress he had made over the last few months disappear because he had a relapse when she forced him to go back to school before he was really ready.

"Alright then, I'll just call the school and see if the tutor will come out here instead." Troy just released a soft sigh as he looked at his mother hoping that she could in fact get that done, because he knew deep down that he couldn't face anyone, and he just didn't want to deal with anything extra right now.

When they finally made it home, Troy helped his mother out of the car and headed towards the house. He opened the front door for her, and waited till she was inside before closing the door. Stepping into the house, he looked up and glanced around the now empty house. So many rooms in the house no longer had any use because his father was no longer there. The study was completely off limits, to anyone except his mother, who went in there most nights and slept on the sofa. One day he had asked her about it, and she told him that in there she felt closer to his father, so promptly left it alone and allowed her to do with the room what she wanted. Besides it's not like he had any right to go in there. Especially since his father died probably thinking that his only child hated him. Lifting a hand to his chest, Troy massaged the area over his heart and quickly bounded up the stairs in search of his room. He didn't know what he'd do tonight to keep his mind off how he and father had ended their relationship, all he knew was that he didn't want to dwell on it tonight. Entering his room, he quickly made his way over to his bed and laid down on it. Staring up at the ceiling, he slowly counted back from hundred. Hoping that once he reached one, that the tears in his eyes would disappear because he didn't deserve to cry, besides would his father even want his tears.

Troy found himself downstairs the next day in front of the television, flipping through various channels and almost looking for something-anything to keep his mind off the visitor that they were going to have later on that day. His mother had told him that his tutor, a student from his class would be there right after school and that the tutor would work with him until eight o'clock that night for about four days a week. Monday thru Thursday. Troy just figure the reason for the schedule was because of his friday meetings with that therapy group, and he was hoping that with the tutor coming and all that he wouldn't have to go back. He didn't like sharing, and he certainly didn't like talking about his father and their rocky relationship to a bunch of strangers every damn week either. They didn't know him, and he certainly didn't want them judging him. Which he knew they were doing after what he told them during the last session. He really didn't know what came over him last time, like that girl said. He had done nothing up till then, except for sitting in the corner listening and watching them. However, that day something was different. He wanted to share, he wanted to get that last night off his chest. He was just tired of holding it all in. The sound of knocking at the front door pulled him from his bitter thoughts. "I got it mom." he shouted out as he heard her moving upstairs as if startled and it didn't take a genius to figure out exactly where she had been at that moment. He heard a soft ok, as he stood up and walked over to his front door. Yanking it open, he looked down in surprise as he saw the same black girl from his therapy group standing in the doorway looking up at him with a nervous experience on her face. Narrowing his eyes at her, he looked down at her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, wondering why she thought just because she had told him that she felt sorry for him didn't mean that she now had an open invitation to his home, he also wondered if Dr. Patterson had told her where he lived. That man was always in his business trying to get him to become closer to everyone in the group. Well, if this was his idea he certainly had another thing coming because-.

"I'm here to tutor you." she squeaked out as she looked up at him, it was then that he noticed the rolling book bag by her side or was it a lap top bag. Troy raised an eyebrow then and just shook his head.

"My mom told me that my tutor would be from the school and-."

"I'm from East High," she quickly stated with a small shrug of her petite shoulders, as she continued to look up at him. "You just never noticed me before." she finished with a sigh. Troy continued to stand there with a look of utter disbelief on his face. "We've been in the same class since middle school," she quickly added as she looked up at him. "My name is Taylor McKessie." Troy quickly turned the name over his mind, trying to figure out if he actually knew a Taylor McKessie while trying to figure out why she acted as if she didn't know him back during the therapy session.

"Troy Bolton, but I see you already knew that."

"Who wouldn't know Mr. Popular." she said bluntly, as she looked up at him. Troy raised an eyebrow at that and realized that he probably didn't have the slightest idea of who she was, mainly because she wasn't one of the popular kids back at school. Nodding his head, in understanding he stepped back and allowed her entry.

"Sorry about the mess." he mumbled indicting the way the house looked at the moment. Taylor merely looked up at him and shrugged her shoulders while pulling that rolling luggage behind her. Crossing his arms over his chest he stepped off the landing while she turned to look at him.

"So where do you want to get started?" Troy paused for a moment, not really sure if he should take Taylor upstairs to his room, since his mother was currently up there or just remain down here. Turning to look at her, he uncrossed his arms and cleared his throat.

"I think maybe we should go and work in the dining room." he said, thinking that that was probably the only clean area in the house. "Um follow me." he mumbled as he took off in that direction, but stopped abruptly and turned around towards Taylor. "Here let me carry that-I mean the inside of a house isn't the ideal place to have rolling luggage."

"It's a laptop bag." Taylor replied back quickly as she looked at him. Troy smirked and looked over at her and shook his head.

"Thank God, for a second there I thought you had a rolling book bag."

"Nope, had that last year but my-I got this once I started high school. I guess it's suppose to help me fit in more you know. . .helps me not look so much like a geek." Troy didn't really reply to that statement, instead he led them into the dining and sat her laptop bag down. She quickly walked over to it and started pulling out various books and papers while Troy just stood there watching.

"What's all this?" he asked as he looked over at her.

"Your work." she stated as she looked up at him from her position. Troy walked over to the table and fingered the work that she had set out on the table utter disbelief. Stepping back, he muttered a quick damn and sighed. "Oh it won't be that bad, you can do this and besides that's why I'm here. I'm here to help."

"Well since you're here, I guess I can do this huh." he muttered softly as he looked at her for a brief moment before sighing. "So how are we going to get this all done then."

"By tackling one subject for about two days at a time and getting as much done as possible so the work load from school won't continually build on you. If we do this right I think you'll have this all done by the summer or at the very least the just before the new school year begins." Troy studied her for a moment before nodding his head. He needed to do something like this, he needed to get ready to go back to school, make something about his life normal and simple again. If she was here to help him achieve that then he would take her up on the offer no questions asked. Setting his hands on the table top, he looked over at her and then allowed his gaze to stray to the pile of work she was putting onto the table.

"Alright let's get started then."


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own anything.

**A/N: Alright it's time for another update but first off let me thank my reviewers from last week;**_ Sasural, MissMercedesJade, jinidu93, chaylorXtraylorlover, HeartsWereNeverMeantToRace, Ash8495, chaylorfan, Aipom4, NaeNae1495, traylorlove, You knoe me, boycrazii98 and Tina_**. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and please remember to Review.**

**BabyS**

**Chapter Two**

Releasing a painful groan, Troy pushed his chair back from the table and clutched his head in-between his hands. He was so close to screaming from memory overload that he didn't know what to do. Taylor had been sitting next to him as he tried to finish his math homework calmly going over whatever it was that she did when she assigned him something to do by himself. After a few minutes, when Troy felt like he was finally calming down, he opened his eyes and took a peek over at Taylor and found her now sitting back in her chair watching him with an amused look in her eyes. "You okay over there?" she asked as he just shook his head and released a tired sigh before leaning back in his chair and just staring down at his work like it was something horrible. Taylor studied him for a moment and just smiled. "It's not going to get you." she stated with a soft chuckle as she looked over at him. Troy sighed then and looked over at her.

"I know right," he murmured back softly. "It's just that I need a break man." he whispered as he wiped his hands over his face. Taylor looked at him and then over to her work and nodded her head, reaching out she pushed her papers away from her and then looked back over at him.

"I guess you're right, maybe we should take a break. Sometimes I just get so caught up in what I'm doing that I forget not everyone can work like I do." Troy sent her a look while rising an eyebrow at her words.

"So what is it, you just love to study huh. You just get-."

"I'm not that much of a geek Troy," she quickly replied as she looked over at him and fingered her notebook. "I just like to get things done you know. If I start a homework assignment I want to get it finished before I move onto anything else." she stated with a small sigh as she finished her sentence. Troy looked at her for a moment and sighed.

"Just to let you know I wasn't calling you a geek." Troy replied thinking that maybe Taylor needed to know that. Turning towards her slightly in his seat, he looked over at her. "I was merely suggesting that you got lost in things," he paused then and closed his eyes angry at himself over his choice of words which he felt were weak and awkward. "What I mean is-well-I kinda know how that is and stuff." He could see that he had gained Taylor's interest.

"Oh really and what exactly do you get lost in?" she asked softly, Troy crossed his arms over his chest and just looked down for a moment, as he tried to remember what it was that he could find himself getting lost in. Basketball, was one of the first things that came to mind immediately, but he didn't feel like acknowledging that. Taylor sighed for a moment and then nodded her head in understanding. "I'm sorry you don't have to talk about it." she whispered as she reached out and placed a hand on his arm. Troy looked down at the hand on his arm and then back up at her, surprised by the way touch made him feel.

"It's okay." he answered back, Taylor looked into his eyes for a few more minutes before removing her arm and sitting back in her seat for a moment. They both sat there silently just enjoying the peace before she clasped her hands together in front of her and realized a soft sigh.

"Let's take a snack break." she stated brightly as she looked at him. Troy glanced over at her and nodded his head in agreement as he felt his stomach clench at the word snack.

"Now you're talking my language, um we can eat here or in the living room wherever you want." he said as he pushed his chair back and stood up from the table. "I'll go and get us some snacks, is bottle water okay with you."

"It's fine." Taylor replied as he disappeared out of the room. She could hear him rummaging around in the kitchen, but for the most part she remained where she was. After a few minutes, Troy looked into the dining room his arms loaded down with snack food and two bottles of water.

"I guess we'll be eating in here."

"Let's move to the other end of the table so we can eat and not have to worry about having some freak accident that will ruin our papers." Taylor just nodded and pushed her seat back as Troy headed towards the other end of the table. Once they were seated, Troy pointed to each snack food he had brought out with him and named them for Taylor who just nodded and quickly grabbed up a pair of chips and a bottle of water. Troy had also grabbed a bag of chips and at them for a little while before speaking up. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why are you in the therapy group, I mean I know why but-." she raised a hand and shook her head as she picked up her bottle of water and took a generous sip.

"I'm in the group because like you," she paused and just shook her head. "I lost my father too." she admitted softly. "So I guess I know what you're talking about." Troy studied her for a bit not really sure what he wanted to ask her next. After a few minutes, he sighed and looked back down at the table.

"I'm sorry for your lost." he stated softly, the potato chip in his mouth suddenly becoming to hard to swallow.

"And I'm sorry for yours." she replied back just as softly. Setting his bottle down, Troy focused on her for a moment, before shaking his head.

"Let's move on to something else, less heavy." he muttered as he met her gaze from across the table.

"Like what?" she asked softly as she looked at him. Troy ran a hand through his hair for a moment before saying.

"One of the things I can get lost in is um, music." he admitted, as he thought about the times when his thoughts and memories were so loud that the only thing that could effectively drown them out was his music.

"Really and what do you play?"

"My CDs," he paused and released a chuckled and Taylor quickly joined in. "But seriously I don't play an instrument but I can sing." Taylor quirked her lips up into one of the cutest smiles he had ever seen.

"Impressive." she replied with a nod of her head. "I play music too, that's something else I get lost in, I mean really lost in."

"So do you play any instruments."

"A violin." she replied with a sigh. "I've played that since I was about-well since I could pick it p and take lessons."

"So basically forever." Troy replied with a smile unaware that there was a twinkle in his eye that hadn't been there before. Taylor just nodded her head at his words and blushed in embarrassment.

"Yeah, basically forever." she stated with a small smirk. "Maybe one day I can play my violin and you can sing a song."

"Only if you write it." Troy replied back with a smirk as he looked at her. Taylor just smiled and shook her head.

"I don't know if you'll like it but I'm gonna to hold you to that." she replied with a brief smile. Troy returned the smile and took a sip of his drink, glad that she was actually in his life. He had forgotten what it was like to have his friends around. Ever since his father passed away, he had all but locked himself inside his own little world not willing to let them in under any circumstances. So he was glad he had Taylor here with him at the moment, not only playing the part of tutor but also trying to be his friend.

"I'll be looking forward to it." he replied with a small smile, just as Taylor's phone started to ring. Reaching down she pulled it out and looked at the time and winced.

"Dang, it's eight."

"Time flies." Troy replied as he pushed himself out of his seat, so he could help Taylor pack up her laptop bag like he did every day when it was time for her to leave. Taylor sent him a look over her shoulder before grinning.

"Please you weren't having fun." Troy glanced at her as he picked up some of her books and placed them into her laptop bag. Was he having fun? Meeting her gaze, he slowly nodded his head as he stood up.

"I was, when we were talking and it wasn't so heavy," he paused and nodded his head. "So, yeah I enjoyed myself. I haven't done that in awhile and you-."

"You don't have to say anything I really get it." She stated as she offered him a comforting smile. As she reached out for her laptop bag handle. Troy took a step back and shook his head, as he looked at her.

"Now you know I carry this out for you. Do we really have to go over this every time." he asked with a smirk, Taylor sighed and just shook her head. She wasn't use to anyone carrying things for her except her late father. Heck, what she was used to was everyone going about their business even as they saw her struggling to carry things out of the school.

"No, I guess we don't." she replied as she grabbed her purse and jacket instead, as they made their way towards the door, Taylor looked up at him and sighed.

"Will you be at the group meeting this Friday." Troy opened the door while slowly nodding his head at her question.

"Yeah, I'll be there save me a seat." he said as he turned a looked at her. Taylor nodded as he stepped outside and walked her to the car parked in the driveway.

"Sure I'll save you a seat." she replied as an elderly black man exited the car and like always he took Taylor's bags from Troy and placed them in the backseat. The man offered Troy a quick nod of his head before opening the door for Taylor who gave Troy one last wave and slipped in the car. Heading back inside, Troy wondered about Taylor's lifestyle. He hadn't really thought about it before but she had to be rich especially since she always had a driver to pick her up and take her places. Massaging the back of his neck, he looked towards the doorway and saw his mother standing there.

"She seems like a nice girl." Lillian Bolton admitted as she looked at her son, Troy could only nod his head in agreement before saying.

"Yeah, she's cool." he admitted softly. As he stepped into the house, once his mother stepped back to allow him entry. Closing the door behind him, he sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. He knew Taylor would want him to get things done so the next time she came over they could move forward with his work. "You know what Mom, let me get some of this work finished and-." Lillian nodded her head, but the look in her eyes told Troy that she was disappointed in something. "Mom what is it?"

"I was hoping you could watch a movie with me." Troy's eyes widened in surprise. It was Thursday and this had always been his parents' thing. They would watch the new premiere of a movie on their favorite movie channel. They had done that for as long as he could remember. Troy glanced towards the dining room where his homework was, and then back at her. "Sure what's coming on tonight?" he asked softly as he looked towards his mother.

"Avatar." she stated with a soft smile.

"Alright then, I can always finish my homework later." he replied with a shrug as he allowed his mother to lead the way into the living room. As Troy settled down on the sofa beside his mother, he silently made a vow to himself that he would be there for her, and that maybe this Thursday movie thing could now be a mother-son thing for awhile. He didn't like seeing her suffer, and if spending a little time in front of the television would help him not see her suffer, then he'd do it.

Troy had never been so scared in his life, he rushed into the hospital very much aware that most of the basketball team that had been at the party were on his heels. Looking around for an information desk, he saw his mother sitting in a chair all by herself off to the side silently crying. Running over to her as fast as he could, called out her name. "Mom!" he shouted out, she looked up at him and then bolted up from the chair. As soon as he reached her he pulled her into a tight hug as she clung to him crying.

"Oh Troy thank God you're here." she whispered softly as she looked up at him. Troy looked down at her and then over towards the doors that led to the emergency room. Lillian followed his gaze and sighed. "He was in bad shape, they thought it was better if we wait out here. They told me that as soon as he's stable, they'll move him into a better room."

"What happened?" he gasped out, as his throat constricted and his eyes filled with tears that he knew he couldn't shed because he had to be strong for his mother. Lillian looked up at him and then shook her head tears falling down as she thought about her husband.

"A drunk driver, hit him on the way home." she whispered as she looked at him. Troy closed his eyes, silently cursing whoever it was that had been drinking and driving. Cursing that person to the deepest pit of hell.

"He's going to be okay Mom." he stated firmly needing to convince himself. Lillian just hugged him to her and nodded her head.

"Of course he will, you're father's a fighter. He'll be fine." she whispered. Troy glanced over his shoulder at the rest of the guys who had come to the hospital and saw that they were all sitting around the room silently watching them and waiting on news about his father.

"Come on Mom have a seat." he whispered as he led her back to the chair she had been sitting in before he had arrived. Once she was seated, he quickly took up space in a chair beside her and waited thinking over his father's current situation. How could this have happened? He asked himself as he took a glance towards the doors that housed his father on the other side. He thought that all over as he sat there in his seat by his mother, and after a while he finally figured it all out. His father was in this situation because of him. Normally, his father would have stayed in the gym with him for a little over an hour after practice going over whatever he thought they needed to go over.

Troy looked up as the door to his room opened and his mother peeked her had inside, "Are you okay?" she asked her son softly, Troy looked down for a moment hoping that she wouldn't see the truth in his eyes. Once he was sure he had masked it properly he looked back up at her.

"I'm fine Mom, what is it?" he asked softly as he leaned back against the headboard of his bed and looked at her for a moment. Lillian stepped into the room and looked at him for a moment and then took a look around the room. She could tell that her son had taken some of his awards and trophies down that he had gotten from playing basketball, but she figured that it was his way of coping.

"I was just coming up here to tell you that it's almost time for your session," she stated as she pointed towards his nightstand clock. He glanced at it as she continued. "You don't want to be late do you." she asked as she looked at him. Troy just shook his head and turned off the music that he had been listening to earlier.

"No I don't." he answered as he thought about the fact that Taylor was suppose to be holding a seat for him today. He certainly didn't want to be late and have her give it away to someone else, but even as he thought that over, he had to shake his head at that. She wouldn't do something like that, not after she had given him her word. Taylor wasn't like that, he might not have known her for long but he was pretty sure that she wouldn't go back on her word. Pushing himself off his head, he looked towards his mother and spoke up quickly. "Give me a minute, Mom. I just need to change clothes and then we can go alright." Lillian only nodded her head and quickly left the room. Troy quickly made his way to his closet and pulled out some of his clothes. It barely took him fifteen minutes before he was bounding down the stairs. "Alright let's go." he called as he landed on the landing at the end of the stairs. It took another twenty minutes before his mother pulled up in the parking lot of the area where he was suppose to have group sessions. Opening the door, he quickly told his mother good-bye and then hurried inside. As he entered the room, he spied Taylor in her usual seat with her leg thrown over one to her right. Walking over to her, he graced her with a small smile as he tapped her leg with his finger.

"Is this seat for me or your leg?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, Taylor smiled and quickly sat up correctly while looking at him.

"It's for you," she stated with a smile as she looked at her phone. "You're early."

"I thought since I had you here holding my spot that I should come early instead of lazing around like I normally do." he stated glad that for the time being, he could dwell on her instead of how he had his and his mother's life a living hell.

"Oh I see, well maybe I should save you a seat every week if it guarantee's your early arrival." Troy settled down into the seat and shrugged his shoulders as he looked at her.

"Maybe you should." he admitted with a nod of his head. "So how was your day?" he asked as he looked at the other teenagers either quietly talking amongst themselves or just sitting down and messing with their phones. Taylor followed his gaze, and spoke up.

"Oh the usual studying and trying not to let-" she paused and shook her head. "It was the usual day." she finally stated with a sigh as she looked over at Troy wondering if he had heard her slip. Unfortunately for her, he did. Troy turned to give her a look before shaking his head.

"What was that bit about trying not to, um. . ." he paused and rolled his finger through the air as he looked at her. "What exactly were you trying not to do." Taylor's eyes widened in surprise as she looked away from him for a moment.

"It's nothing Troy."

"Right." he drawled out with a roll of his eyes. "It's nothing huh, sure it is." he stated with a shake of his head. "You might as well tell me now cause I don't see myself dropping this line of questioning anytime soon." he stated seriously as he looked at her, Taylor met his gaze for only a second before looking towards the door as Dr. Patterson walked in ready to start the session. Troy glanced at Dr. Patterson too, but unlike Taylor whose gaze held nothing but relief in it, his gaze held annoyance. Leaning towards Taylor he spoke to her quickly. "This isn't over." Taylor only sent him a look before didn't say anything further.

Sitting back, Troy watched as Dr. Patterson walked over to the group and sat down in his usual chair at what Troy could only think to call the head of the circle. The man looked at everyone and when his eyes landed on him, Troy could see the shock in his eyes. Since he had always sat away from the group since day one. Dr. Patterson's gaze lingered on him for a beat longer before turning back to everyone else. "Glad to see everyone today," he stated with a small smile. "Let's get started shall we." Troy gave the man his attention fully aware that once this whole session was over he'd be talking to Taylor about what she hinted at today. Settling back in his chair, Troy watched as Dr. Patterson started the session by introducing two more teenagers into the group and then the real session started, thankfully Dr. Patterson avoided him probably because he didn't want to make him go back to the way he had been before. Once the session was over, Troy reached out quickly and latched onto Taylor's arm just as she bolted up from her seat. Looking up at her, he studied her for a moment before nodding his head towards the chair she had just left.

"Troy we don't have to talk about any of this?"

"You're my friend and I want too." he admitted aloud, after the last two weeks he was almost positive that was how he felt. She understood him, he didn't need to explain anything to her because she got it. Unfortunately, she had to go through the same thing too. She had lost someone she cared about as well. That alone made him cling to her, he needed a friend someone who would understand him and allow him to recover at his own pace. He wasn't so sure his friends back at school would do so, they would want things to be back to normal and until that happened they would be walking around as if one egg shells till it happen and he didn't want to be apart of that. Glancing back up at her, he saw that she still hadn't moved. "Go ahead tell me what happen?" he asked as he looked up at her wanting to know what had made her day usual. What horrible thing had been happening to her on a regular basis that she would deem it usual.

"It's really not that bad and I don't know why you're getting so upset." Troy sighed and just fixed her with a stare. After a few moments, Taylor pinched the bridge of her nose and settled down into the chair she had gotten out of earlier.

"Just some normal teasing that's all." she admitted with a frown, but Troy could see the tears in her eyes as she spoke.

"Do you always try to play it off?" he asked softly as he looked back at her, unable to stop the protective feeling that surged to left within him. "I mean it's obvious since the moment that you mentioned it that this hurts you."

"I'm used to it, Troy." she countered a shake of her head as she looked at him. "So please let's just drop it alright."

"I don't think I can do that, tell me who is it and I'll make a few calls maybe even get them to back off and-." Taylor looked at him for a moment and then shook her head.

"It's just the same old high school," she paused as Mr. Patterson walked over to them. Telling them that he'd be in his office and that when they were done talking just to give him a holla. Once he was locked away in his office, Taylor turned back towards Troy. "It's just the same old high school bs, Troy. Nerds and Geeks get picked on by the more popular students. I mean it's just a way of life."

"Maybe," Troy stated as he looked at Taylor for a moment. "But it won't be that way for you." He snapped as he thought over the fact that someone was actually trying to make Taylor's life a living hell. He could see it in her eyes, that's exactly what she thought. The only emotion he could correctly identify was the one of anger. He was angry that someone was picking on her. Picking on the person, that had with their presence made his life a little more bearable. Standing up, he looked down at her for a moment before holding out his hand to help her up. "Come on let me walk you to your car." Taylor quickly accepted just as Troy shouted towards Mr. Patterson's door that they were leaving.

"What are you going to do?" she asked, Troy looked over at her for a brief moment before reaching out to open the door that led to the parking lot.

"I'm going to take care of it." he admitted with a shrug. "I have a few friends I can call that can handle the problem for you. They're nice guys so I'm pretty sure they'll do it." he stated with a shrug.

"You'd do that for me."

"Yeah, I would." he said as he motioned towards her car. "Go on, I'll see you Monday afternoon right." he asked referring to their next tutoring session. Taylor only nodded her head at that and then slipped into her car. Troy watched it drive away, and then quickly looked around for his mother's car. Spotting it over near the far end of the parking he quickly made his way over. Slipping into the car, he quickly buckled his seatbelt as his mother looked out the window.

"Was that your tutor?"

"Yeah, that's Taylor." Troy stated, his mother could only nod her head then, backed out of the parking space. Lillian slowly merged into traffic while looking over at her son who was silently leaning back in his seat.

"So are you two friends now?" she asked as she looked over at him briefly, before yanking her head towards the road so she could pay attention the coming traffic. Troy didn't look at his mother, instead he focused on the cars in front of them.

"Yeah we are," he stopped for a moment and then looked at his mother. "We have a lot in common and talking to her is easy." he admitted softly with a shrug of his shoulder as he glanced back out the window.

"Well that's good," Lillian admitted honestly as she glanced at her son for a moment. "I'm glad to see you coming out of your shell again." Neither one of them had the strength to talk about why he had withdrawn into his supposed 'shell.'

"I wouldn't say I'm coming out of my shell just yet." Troy admitted with a shake of his head as he looked over at his mother for a moment. "I mean let's just say she can get me to come out." Lillian just send her son a look as he said that but didn't comment. Troy satisfied that the conversation was over settled back in his seat and just looked out the window, wondering which one of his friends he was going to call to handle the bullying thing at school.

By the time he had arrived home, he already knew who to call. Getting out of the car, he rushed around to help his mother out of the car and then headed towards the front door. Once his mother was inside the house, he bounded up the stairs pulling out his cell phone as he went. Entering his room, he walked over to his bed and sat down strolling through the names in his contacts until he got to the correct one. He immediately hit the call button and waited for his friend to pick up. After the third ring, the call was answered. "Troy?" the voice called out in surprise over the line. "Man is that really you."

"I know I haven't spoken to anyone in quite some time." he stated with a sigh, hoping that he could just put in his request and hang up the phone. He didn't want to have a conversation that required him to tell the other guy how he was feeling. He didn't want to do that, all he wanted to do was make sure that Taylor never had that look on her face again. His friend wasn't going to look like ever again as far as he was concern.

"I know man and I just want to say-."

"Zeke, I'm calling because I need a favor and you were the only person I could think of that would and could do this favor for me." There was a pause on the other end of the line before Zeke spoke up.

"Man, you know whatever it is I'll do it man, you're my boy." Zeke with conviction, Troy could only nod his head at his words.

"I have a tutor and right now she's getting picked. I mean some guys are making her life a living hell and that needs to stop." he stated, as he felt his earlier anger rising again as he thought about what was happening to Taylor at East High.

"What's her name?" Zeke asked calmly.

"Taylor McKessie." Troy stated, "So can you make sure that it stops?" Troy asked with worry lacing his tone. Tapping his foot on the floor alongside his bed, he eagerly awaited Zeke's answer.

"Yeah man I can make sure that it doesn't happen," Zeke admitted with a sigh. "But you do know that's the older guys on the basketball team that's picking on her and a whole host of other so-called nerds."

"Taylor's not a nerd." Troy snapped out angrily.

"Wasn't calling her one," Zeke quickly stated. "I'm just telling you what's going on. Mark Hudson and his boys have always been messing with people they deem as nerds don't you-." Zeke trailed off, "Look me and the boys will tell them that she is now off limits. I think that should work and if not we'll look out for her between classes and during breaks."

"Thanks Zeke."

"No problem man, anything for a friend." Zeke admitted with a soft chuckle. "So when can we expect to see you back at East High."

"No time soon." Troy rushed out. "I have to go." he didn't even wait for Zeke to say anything else, he just quickly hung up the phone and tossed it across his bed. He watched as he hit his pillow and rested there. Getting up, he quickly walked over to his ipod currently was and picked it up. He was tired and wanted to go to sleep but wasn't going to allow himself to fall victim to dreams that seem to play that night over and over again. Only stopping when his dream self came to the same haunting conclusion. No, he tonight he was going to sleep peacefully or as much as he could. Which was why he needed his ipod to sleep. The music usually masked the dreams.


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own anything.

**A/N: Alright it's time for yet another update but first off I want to thank my reviewers from last week;**_ chaylorXtraylorlover, javasmoker, traylorlove, HeartsWereNeverMeantToRace, Aipom4, NaeNae1495, sweetchocolate26, LunaSolTierra, Tina, BabyGlover, chaylorfan and Sasural_**. Thank you all so much for Reviews. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and as usual please don't forget to Review.**

**Baby S**

Chapter Three

It was Monday afternoon and Troy found himself sitting upstairs in his room quietly reading over the material that Taylor had instructed him to go over before she arrived today for their afternoon study session before he took his first major test for his history class. Glancing over at the alarm clock on his nightstand, he allowed himself to release a small smile when he saw that it was four o'clock, which meant that Taylor would be arriving at his home at any moment. Setting the book down, he pushed himself off the bed and headed out of his room. As he headed towards the stairs, he heard the sound of a soft whimper coming from his father's office. He knew immediately that it was the sound of his mother's crying, and the sound of her crying immediately erased whatever good feelings he had currently racing through him. He stood near the door listening to his mother crying. He didn't know how long he stood there, all he knew was that the only thing to pull him out of their now joint misery was the sound of the doorbell ringing. Shaking his head, he quickly stepped away door and headed downstairs. Swinging open the front door, he looked down at Taylor who stood there looking up at him. "You know I really didn't believe you when you told me what you would do last week." she stated as she slipped into his house while looking at him over her shoulder. Troy followed her with his eyes as he tried to go over just what she had been talking about.

"What are you talking about?" he asked his mind in utter confusion, mostly because he was still thinking about his mother upstairs who was probably still crying. Taylor turned to look at him then while shaking her head.

"My bodyguards," she stated with a smirk as she released the handle on her laptop bag and looked at him for a moment with a ghost of a smile spreading across her lips. She met Troy's blue eyes and placed her hand on her hip as she watched him. "I do have you to thank for that right?" Troy lifted a hand and massaged the back of his neck. He did remember putting in that call to Zeke after he got home from their weekly group therapy session. Looking back up at her, he saw her standing there watching him expectedly.

"Depends," he muttered as he raised an eyebrow and met her gaze head on. "Depends on if you're upset?" he asked with a small smirk as he looked at her. Taylor lifted a hand and tapped the bottom of her chin, twice before fixing her gaze on his eyes.

"Well, I'd say I'm about fifty-fifty."

"Fifty-Fifty?" Troy asked with a shake of his head. "And what exactly is that?"

"Oh you know happy and upset." she replied with a shrug, Troy walked over to her and picked up her laptop bag and headed towards their usual study spot in the dining room. Taylor quickly followed behind him anxious to know what he would say to her next.

"Well then I'll own up to the fifty percent that makes you happy," he stated as he sat her things down by her usual chair. "As for the other fifty, well I don't know anything about that. Someone else did it and it wasn't me."

"Oh so you're just going to disavow all knowledge of your boys?" she asked with a small smile as she looked at him. Troy only nodded his head and looked at her as he sat down in his usual spot at the table.

"That's what you do right, disavow all knowledge when things go bad right." he asked with a soft chuckle as he continued to look at her.

"I suppose." she replied with a shrug of her shoulders. Looking around the dining room, she frowned for a moment before shaking her head. The actions grabbed Troy's attention as he studied her for a bit.

"Is something wrong?"

"Nothing really," she paused again as she thought some things over. "Do you leave the house much?" To Troy the question seemed to come directly out of left field. Raising an eyebrow at her question, he simply shook his head. "So you only leave on Fridays for the group sessions?" Leaning back in his chair, Troy crossed his arms over his chest.

"What are you getting at, Taylor?"

"I'm not getting at anything. I was just asking you if you leave the house." she finished with a tired sigh. "I really don't mean anything by it. I was just asking you a question." Troy narrowed his eyes at her as he pushed his chair back and shot up to his feet.

"Why are you asking me about this?" he snapped out angrily as he looked at her. He didn't know why her questioning bothered him but it did. Taylor cut her eyes at him as he glared at her.

"I'm asking you these questions because I wanted to pay back for what you did for me, but now I'm seriously starting to reconsider that." she admitted with a sigh, Troy relaxed his shoulders a bit as he allowed himself to dwell on her words.

"I'm sorry about that I-."

"Will work on that temper of yours from now on right." she suggested as she stared him down. Troy just nodded his head, shyly while lowering his head. He had to admit that she was right. The attitude he had gotten with her wasn't right in the less bit.

"You're right, I will work on that." he stated softly as he looked at her. They both stood there silently for a few more minutes before he decided that to speak again, hoping that he could make the situation right again. "So, Taylor what did you have planned?" he asked. Taylor only looked over at him before shaking her head. Troy watched as she pulled out her chair and sat down in it before crossing her little arms over her chest.

"Well, now I'm not really sure you deserve it." she stated with a small smirk tugging at the corners of her lips. The smirk was all Troy needed to see to know that she was in fact joking with him. Moving around the table till he was at her side he reached out and grabbed one of her hands with his. He held it still despite her struggling and looked down at her.

"Oh come on I said I was sorry." he stated pulling out a pout that usually worked on his mother, Taylor's mouth dropped open in shock as she looked at Troy before a disbelieving smile went across her face. Troy immediately thought of a sunrise as he looked at her smiling face, only because her smile seemed to have that same affect on him. Everything that was covered in darkness within him becomes bright when she smiles at him.

"I know you aren't using some pout on me."

"I don't know," he stated with a sly grin of his own. "Tell me is it working." he asked as he continued to pout, laying it on as thick as he possibly could. Taylor looked into his eyes and released a deep sigh.

"Well. . ."

Troy groaned aloud as he tilted his head back to look at the sky above them. "I can not believe you think taking me to the park to study is a treat." The soft giggle that Taylor emitted at his words brought his head back down so he could look at her. "Studying is not a treat." he mumbled as he playfully glared at her while flipping the pages of his text book that was currently sitting on the picnic table. Taylor just looked at him with that smiled that warmed his soul and shook her head.

"It is a treat, Troy. You're learning and you're outside breathing in fresh air. You can hear the wind rustling, the birds chirping and-." Raising both of his hands in the air, Troy shook his head as he looked at her.

"Please don't write me a poem." he muttered as he flipped another page of his history book, while propping his elbow up on the table and staring at the small black words that covered the pages. "You know what could have been a real treat," he paused and waited for Taylor to look at him. "Some ice cream, a movie, a video game."

"A video game really?"

"What can I say I'm a geek about things like that." he stated as he looked at her. Taylor only nodded her head and sat the book down that she was currently reading, while Troy continued to hold her gaze. "See you're not the only person that might see themselves as a geek and really there's nothing wrong with being a geek. Everyone is a geek about something."

"I suppose you're right." she stated as she remembered their earlier conversation when she had told him that she wasn't that much of a geek.

"What am I right about?" he asked with a smirk. "What would count as a treat or-."

"Oh no you aren't right about that, this is a better treat then any of those you thought up. What you're right about is that we all have a geek within us." Troy sighed and just shook his head.

"Did I really say that cause it sounds like an awful public service announcement?" he released a playful shudder as he finished the statement.

"Yep, you did." she stated with a smirk, after that both of them settled down and focused on the book in front of them. Troy forced himself to read through the textbook in front of him, however every once in a while he couldn't help but lift his head up and looked over at Taylor. She seemed completely engrossed in the book before her. He continued this action for a little bit longer before finally asking the question that had been on the tip of his tongue ever since she brought him out here.

"Do you do this type of thing often?" he asked softly as he pushed his book away from him and while looking over at a group of laughing children who were playing a game of tag nearby. Taylor followed his gaze while putting her book down. They both sat there silently watching the kids play around, until the group moved further down the way and their laughter for the most part started fading. Taylor kept her gaze on them despite the distance as she answered Troy's question.

"My Dad used to bring me here when I was a kid," she paused and allowed a sad smile to graced her face as she thought about it. "It used to be our Saturday event. He'd make a show of clearing his schedule and then he'd bring me here for a day of fun." Troy watched her silently, taking in the way her facial features softened as she thought about her father and the times they used to have together. He fingered the top corner of his textbook as he watched her. "I come here now to relax and to be close to him."

"I've changed my mind," Troy spoke his voice softly as he allowed his eyes to settle on her. "This trip is a good treat." Taylor just sighed and shook her head as she picked her book back up. She looked at him briefly before focusing on the book in front of her.

"You don't have to say that, Troy. I was simply answering your question. I wasn't trying to-."

"You sharing something like that with me-makes this place special. . . I mean it makes this trip a good treat for a good deed. I'm glad you think enough of me to share this." he stuttered out as he looked at her. Taylor reached across the table and placed her small hand on top of his larger one.

"I consider you my friend Troy, especially since you have your boys playing high-school bodyguards for me and to some extent my friends." Troy smirked at that, and leaned forward so that he was a little bit closer to her.

"And I consider you my friend as well, which is why you get the high-school bodyguards." he stated with a wink as he moved back away from her. She graced him with a smile and then picked up her book and flipped opened to the page she had it on earlier when he had interrupted her with his question. He sat there watching her silently thinking about how he wanted her to be the friend that he shared stuff with-the good and the bad. They already had so many things in common, unfortunately the death of a family member was one of them, but still they had things in common. He wanted Taylor to be the friend that he could talk to when he had to get things off his chest.

"Troy?" he looked up and met her gaze, Taylor gave him a small smile and then pointed at his book. "Study and then maybe I'll let you push me on the swings."

"Man you just brought me out here to work." he pouted playfully as picked up his book and made a show of reading the first paragraph. Taylor just watched him with a smile on her face, he looked back up at her and grinned. "But I can handle it." She just shook her head and gave her attention back to her book while trying her best not to blush.

Taylor smiled over at Troy as he led her out of his house later on that afternoon, with her laptop bag in hand. "Maybe we can make the park a weekly trip or something." he mused as he handed her bag to her driver who quickly took it from his hand and walked towards the trunk of the car to put it up. Taylor just looked up at Troy and squinted her eyes at him as if she could barely see him.

"I don't know about that," she stated with a smirk. "Let's see how you do on your test and then I'll see."

"I'll be holding you to that." Troy replied back with a dashing smile. "I'll see you tomorrow then," he gave his usual nod of bye to Wilson and then turned on his feet to head back inside. As he opened the door, he turned back around and looked at Taylor. "Oh and Tay." she turned at the sound of his voice a look of a surprise on her face as she registered the nickname that he had just given her.

"Yes?"

"Do you want my friends to continue being your 'bodyguards,'" he said as he raised his hands in the air and made air quotes. "Cause if not-."

"No it's fine, me and I friends rather like the knights of your round table." Troy just nodded his head and then disappeared into the house with a smile on his face. As soon as the door closed, Taylor looked over at Wilson who stood beside her with a small smirk tugging at his lips that were usually set in a grim expression.

"Knights of the round table, Ms. Taylor." he stated with a raised eyebrow. "And I suppose that makes you Queen Guinevere." Taylor just looked at him as he opened the door for her and slipped inside.

"Sure laugh it up, Wilson."

"I wasn't laughing I just found it rather clever." with that said he closed the door, and walked around to the front. As soon as the door closed, Taylor set her things down and quickly began putting on her seatbelt.

"I assume by that little display that you enjoyed yourself this afternoon, Ms. Taylor. Right?" Wilson asked as they pulled away from Troy's house. Taylor only nodded her head as she settled back against the seat trying to get her rapidly beating heart to calm down while reaching out for the arm rest that was located on her door. Wilson looked back at her from the rearview mirror and released a winced. "I'm sorry Ms. Taylor. . .I believe I might have pulled off to fast." he stated sincerely as he kept his eyes on her. Taylor looked up at his voice and gripped the armrest harder.

"Wilson please pay attention to the road, I'm fine." she rushed out hoping that he would do just as she suggested. Feeling slightly guilty for not providing her with a better ride home, Wilson nodded his head and returned his eyes back to the road before them. "And I thought I told you to call me Taylor?" she called back the quivering that he had heard earlier in her voice now completely gone.

"I thought we decided that Ms. Taylor was the perfect compromise." he called back to her with a smirk on his face. "By the way, you never truly answered my question." he stated as he turned the car. He paused as he heard a sharp intake of breath, as well as a quiet voice whispering for him to slow down. Once they were driving straight again, Taylor spoke up even though her voice was once again literally shaking.

"I did enjoy myself, Wilson."

"I could tell, I just wanted to hear you say it. Due to your earlier comment, I could tell that you are quite taken with the boy," he paused and released a chuckle. "Or am I just imagining things."

"He's a friend, Wilson." she stated with a shake of her head, Wilson just smiled at her words and continued driving. "Is there anything else I should know, any news for today?" Wilson cut his eyes up towards the rearview mirror so he could look at her. He knew what she was hinting at, she asked him everyday mostly because she was dreading it, and today he didn't have any good news for her.

"Your mother has returned from Europe, Taylor." he stated softly, he knew what type of reaction this bit of news would bring about. The girl and her mother were to different, Taylor was sweet and innocent. While her mother was every nasty thing a person could think of to be.

"My mother is really back?"

"Yes," he drawled out his voice cold and taking on a tone of complete disgust. A tone he only had for Taylor's mother. He never really knew what her father saw in the woman, she was truly a piece of trash. Mr. McKessie had hardly been in the ground for a month before she started parading different men throughout the house. Maybe it was her way of getting back at Desmond McKessie for basically leaving her nothing but hundred thousand dollars. Everything else he left to his only child, Taylor. "Your mother has returned and unfortunately she had returned with a friend."

"A friend." Taylor muttered, she knew what he meant when he said friend, which was really another man that her mother was currently sleeping with. Probably some rich man she met either in Europe or this man was the reason she dropped everything so he could take her to Europe. Her mother wasn't anything less than a gold digger. Which was probably why she had been raised by a nanny and her father. Her mother was far to busy shopping and being seen at the latest hot spots, to bother raising her own child.

"Yes, a friend." he muttered softly as he turned into their gated community. "Don't dwell on that, though Ms. Taylor. As usual my advice is to ignore them and worry about yourself. Janice should be there this afternoon."

"Where will you be?"

"My grandson is graduating from pre-k tonight so unfortunately I won't be there for you tonight." Wilson stated with a sigh. "But Janice has told me that she will look out for you, so don't worry you won't be alone." He looked behind him and saw Taylor looking out the window as the car started its winding climb up to the McKessie Estate.

"Well you tell Tyler that I said hi."

"Oh I most certainly will, but you know he's going to be upset. He hasn't seen you in weeks." Wilson stated with a chuckle. "That boy is certainly head over heels for you Ms. Taylor." He stated as he thought about his grandchild. Taylor just nodded her head as the car pulled up to a stop outside of the estate. Wilson quickly exited the car, and walked over to Taylor's car door. Pulling open the door, he reached down and helped Taylor out of the car. Just as the front door of the house opened. Taylor looked up at the doorway and saw her mother Whitney McKessie.

Wilson pulled Taylor's bag out of the trunk and placed a hand on her back. "Everything is going to be okay, Ms. Taylor." he whispered just as Whitney McKessie rushed down the steps, putting on the air that most caring mother had from day one.

"Taylor, oh my goodness it's been so long." she gushed out as she pulled her daughter into a hug. Taylor stiffly allowed herself to be pulled into the hug. She looked over her mother's shoulder and saw a rather tall African American man standing in the doorway watching them closely. The man gaze settled on hers and Taylor felt a certain chill roll up her spine.

"Hi Mom." she muttered softly as she stepped out of her mother's embrace. Whitney McKessie looked over her shoulder at Wilson and raised an eyebrow.

"What are you standing there for Wilson, those bags aren't going to move themselves." she snapped and clapped her hands together. Wilson narrowed his eyes at her, but moved up the stairs towards the house. "Now you come on inside and let me tell you all about my trip."

"Mom-." Whitney waved her warning call off and rapidly shook her head as she placed a hand on her daughter's back and literally pushed her up the stairs.

"I know what you're going to say, you were going to tell me about all that homework you have to get done," she paused and shook her head at her daughter the moment Taylor opened her mouth to speak up. "We both know that you already have that done, you always did have your head in those books. Listening to those little black words instead of paying attention to your mother."

"When have you ever had anything of substance to say?" Taylor whispered out coldly as she looked up at her mother. Whitney narrowed her eyes at her daughter but whatever response she was planning on saying was quickly washed away by the overly exited voice of the man, Taylor could only assume was her mother's current boyfriend.

"And just who is this, Whitney?" he asked brightly as he looked down at Taylor with a rather large grin on his face. Taylor eyed him suspiciously, before stepping to the side so that she was away from both her mother and him.

"This is my daughter Taylor and Taylor this is the current man in life. . .Charles Harold." Charles turned his attention towards Taylor and extended his hand towards her.

"Nice to meet you, Taylor. I've heard a lot about you."

"I'm sure." she drawled out softly as she caught the harsh look that her mother was currently sending her way. "Nice to meet you Mr. Harold."

"Call me Charles." he stated with a grin, as Whitney watched them silently, after a few more moments, Whitney clasped her hands together and looked at them both.

"How about we head inside and eat dinner and get to know one another better inside instead of on these steps?" Charles just nodded and turned on his heel and headed towards the house. Taylor watched him silently before she felt her mother's hand on her back gently urging her forward. She released one quiet sigh before heading inside the house.

As they sat around the dinner table, Taylor tried her best to focus on the meal that Janice had cooked up but found that she really couldn't with Charles and her mother there asking her all types of questions, about what she had been doing while they had been on a winter vacation that had lasted well into the spring. "How about this summer we all go on a trip," Charles declared with a wide grin that didn't really reach his eyes. Taylor took a bite of her steak, while looking over at the man. "What do you think?" he asked looking over at her mother, who just nodded her head in agreement.

"That sounds like a lovely idea." Taylor's mother gushed as she took a sip of her wine while looking at Charles. "Taylor what do you say?"

"I can't do that," Taylor stated softly as she looked at Charles who was currently sending her a rather harsh look. "I'm currently tutoring someone and-."

"Isn't that the school's job, I mean if someone dumb enough to get in trouble with grades during high school then they simply need to prepare themselves for working at one of the fast food restaurants here around town." Taylor felt herself getting angry at the harsh way this man was currently talking about Troy. Letting her fork hit her plate, she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.

"He's not dumb, he's going through a hard time and the school asked me to tutor him because I'm good at what I do." Charles just shook his head at her words before looking over at Whitney who simply watched her daughter silently.

"Please, there's a lot of things that are going to end up being hard in life." he stated as he raised his eyebrows at Whitney silently asking her for help.

"Yes, and just because this boy can't handle this um, certain life crisis doesn't mean you have to drop everything in your life to help him. I mean likes be real, you lost your father but that didn't stop you from doing good in school. So whatever this boy's problem is," she paused and looked at her daughter without in a flash of regret in her eyes for so callously mentioning the death of Taylor's father. "He needs to get over it and move on with his life."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Look, we're all black here," Whitney stated with a sigh. "I bet you that boy is one of their white star students huh. Someone that has probably never even paid you attention and here you are playing mammy to him."

"No, I'm not."

"Then you tell me this. Did the school approach you? And did this boy even talk or look in your direction when he was doing well in school. Or is he now because he needs his mammy to help him in school." Whitney finished her statement by looking at her daughter. Taylor turned and glared at her mother before shaking her head.

"You have no right to say those type of things to me."

"Oh please I have every right. I never understood why your father moved us here. This place is extremely backwards," she paused and looked over at Charles. "Or backwoods, whichever term you prefer." She then returned her attention back to Taylor. "I'm simply looking out for you, Taylor. You can't spend your whole life looking out for people because 9 times out of 10 they simply won't return the favor."

"I'm going to my room." Taylor muttered as she pushed her chair back. Whitney called her name but she didn't stop, she just continued on until someone roughly yanked her back. Taylor stumbled back against Charles' massive chest. He glared down at her for a brief moment, Taylor struggled against his hold but Charles didn't released her. "Let me go."

"How about I let you go," he lifted his free hand and pointed over towards the table. "When you get back at the table and wait for your mother to dismiss you." Charles voice had gotten dangerously low as he looked down at her. "Do we having an understanding?"

"Charles?" Whitney McKessie stated with a sigh. "It's alright she can go." Charles glanced back down at Taylor for a moment before releasing her. Taylor rubbed her arm where the skin was throbbing and looked up at him. He met her gaze and leaned down towards her. He was so close that she could smell the wine on his breath.

"You need to be more respectful from now on. Little girls need to have respect for their elders before you force someone to teach it to you." With that last warning, he stepped away from her and headed back towards the kitchen table. Taylor blinked back tears as she looked at him before hightailing it out of the kitchen and upstairs to her room. Once she was in her room, she slammed the door closed and pressed herself up against it for a moment while taking a deep breath. How could her mother just sit there and allow someone random man to man handle her like that. Like she was absolutely nothing at all. She was pretty sure her mother wasn't even addressing what had happened and why it was so wrong for him to do what he did. Her mother didn't care about her and she had proved it once again tonight. Pushing herself away from the door, she looked over at her book bag glad that she had finished her homework earlier that day at the park with Troy. Walking over to her closet, she pulled out her towel and headed for the bathroom intent on getting ready for bed. She didn't have anything else she wanted to get done except go to sleep and hope that the day came quickly.

As she settled into her bed later on that night, there was a knock at her door. She didn't move to get out of the bed instead she sat there and watched as her mother opened the door. "Taylor?" her mother called out as she stepped into the room. Whitney McKessie walked over to her daughter's bed and sat down with a sigh. "We both know you aren't asleep so please just wake up so I can talk to you."

"Unless this is an apology for that man and you're here to tell me that you tossed him out on his ass after I left dinner-."

"Let's not be ridiculous, Taylor. You brought that on yourself down there. You talked back to me, and Charles like the good man he is called you on that error and now you're upset because he did that." Whitney shook her head as she stared down at her daughter. As Taylor pushed herself up in the bed and turned towards her mother.

"I'm going to tell Wilson and the Lloyd what happened and-."

"And what," Whitney stated with a sneer as she looked at her daughter. "I'll deny it and then I'll drop Wilson and his foolish son Lloyd from payroll. Do you really want to be responsible for their lost of income."

"I'll take care of them." Taylor snapped out angrily. She had the money to do so, especially since her father had left her all the money he had besides the mere hundred thousand dollars he left her mother.

"Really, with money that you can't touch until you're eighteen." she asked with a sneer. "Please I'd like to see you try. Now get some sleep, and please try not to be the little disrespectful bitch that you are in the future. Charles won't stand for it and I won't stand in his way." with that said Whitney pushed herself up from the bed and stalked out of the bedroom. Taylor waited till the door was closed before getting out of bed and rushing over to the door so she could lock it. Once the door was locked she walked back over to her bed and laid down. She glanced at the picture of her and her father that she had on the nightstand, while resting her head on her pillow. Why did he have to die and leave her with her mother? Why didn't her mother just leave her alone? Why did she still let the cutting remarks from her mother bother her? She asked herself these questioning over and over again before finally falling into a tearful sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own anything.

**A/N: Alright it's another week and time for another update but first off I want to thank my reviewers from last week; **_OriginallyImperfect, chaylorXtraylorlover, Aipom4, traylorlove, NaeNae1495, javasmoker, Sasural and chaylorfan_**. Thank you all for the reviews and I hope everyone enjoys the new chapter. Please remember to Review.**

**Baby S**

**Chapter Four**

Once morning finally came, Taylor called Wilson and asked if he wouldn't mind coming over earlier than he usually did to take her to school. All she wanted to do, was to get as far away from her mother and her crazy-ass boyfriend as soon as possible. Thankfully, Wilson had agreed to do as she asked and promised her that he would be there around seven. As Taylor climbed out of her bed and started to get ready for the day, she thought about her earlier conversation with Wilson. He had tried to ask her what had happened, but she had easily avoided the questions mostly due to the threat her mother had made the night before. She didn't want Wilson to lose his job, so she wasn't going to tell him about what happened. Her mother lied about a lot of things but when it came to some evil promise, Whitney McKessie usually came through. Keeping that fact in mind, Taylor wanted to play it safe.

Around seven, Wilson pulled up outside of the McKessie Manor and frowned as he saw Taylor standing outside on the steps in the early morning cold just waiting on him. Putting the car in park, he quickly hoped out of the car and bounded up the stairs with his eyes locked on hers. "Ms. Taylor," he exclaimed allowing his shock to come out. "What are you doing standing out here like this. . .you'll catch a cold," he admonished with a shake of his head. He then paused to really look at her. "What happened last night, Ms. Taylor?" he demanded now extremely worried especially if Taylor if the need to stand outside waiting on his arrival. He knew the girl didn't like her mother and that the feeling was probably returned, but it had never been so bad that Taylor would rather be outside the house. "What did your mother do?" he asked as he looked over her shoulders at the doors that led inside the manor. Taylor stared up at him for a moment before shaking her head.

"Wilson, I really don't want to talk about it. Please just take me to school." Wilson gave her a quick once over and then reached down for her laptop bag.

"Fine, come along then," he stated softly as he looked one last time at the manor doors and then back at Taylor as he led her down the steps. "As for me dropping you off at school, how about I stay with you until enough students arrive. I won't feel comfortable leaving you there by yourself otherwise." he murmured as he opened up the backseat door and watched as she climbed into the car. He waited till she was seated before closing the door and heading around to the trunk to put her laptop bag up. Once he was done with that, he hurried around to the driver's side and pulled off away from the house and headed towards East High. Glancing into the rearview mirror, he made sure he wasn't driving to fast and spoke up his voice full of concern. "Now that we're away from the house do you mind telling me what is going on?" Taylor crossed her arms over her chest and looked out the window silently before releasing a sigh and speaking.

"I had to suffer through dinner with them last night. I don't want to have to do the same with breakfast." she admitted softly as she looked at him, Wilson could tell that there was more to the story but decided against calling her on it. He didn't want to make Taylor so uncomfortable with him that she wouldn't confide in him again when things got rough again and since Whitney McKessie was home he knew that would be happening sometime soon. Instead he focused on the fact that she hadn't had any breakfast.

"Are you hungry do you want me to stop somewhere for breakfast?" Wilson suggested. "I believe, there are several fast food restaurants along the way." Taylor merely shook her head, she hadn't felt like eating ever since that man grabbed her last night. The whole incident made her uneasy. Wilson took in her response and drove the rest of the way to the school building in silence. A mere ten minutes later, he was pulling into the school parking lot. Turning off the car, he looked at his surroundings and noticed that several students were making their way inside even at this hour. Glancing back at Taylor to see if she wanted to go on in the school, he saw her sleeping across the backseat. Allowing himself a wistful smile, he turned back around and decided he'd wake her up fifteen minutes before eight o'clock. Just in case, she had to do something to her make-up or her hair.

Just before eight o'clock, Taylor felt Wilson shaking her awake. Yawning, she raised her hands above her head and stretched. Silently thankful for the little bit of sleep that she could squeeze in before school started. After her mother's late night visit to her room, Taylor found it quite difficult to go back to sleep. She was worried about her mother coming back or letting her boyfriend come into her room to say something else. Not wanting to be caught off guard, she forced herself to stay up all night. "Wilson, what time is it?"

"It's about a quarter to eight, Taylor." he replied as he looked at his watch again for good measure. "I figured I'd better wake you up so you wouldn't be late for your classes. I know how much you hate being tardy." he stated with a fatherly wink. Taylor smiled back, before yawning again. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she reached out and opened the car door and slipped out. Wilson quickly followed behind her and moved towards the trunk to take out her laptop bag. He set it on the ground and handed it to her. Taylor carefully took the handle from him.

"Thanks for picking me up this morning." she stated with a small smile as gave him a small wave before walking towards the school. Wilson walked back to his car door, and called out to her.

"It wasn't a problem Ms. Taylor. I'll see you this afternoon, three o'clock on the dot." with that said he slipped back into the car and drove off. Taylor sighed as she entered the school building and quickly headed for her locker.

Taylor busied herself with putting away most of her books for the day and grabbing her 1st period notebook and textbook. Closing her locker door, she almost jumped back as she Sharpay Evans and Gabriella Montez. Bowing her head, she took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

"What have I told you two about doing that?" she groaned, not really in the mood for her friends' usual antics. Sharpay took one look at Taylor and sighed before moving to her friend's side and slipping her arm through Taylor's arm.

"Something's wrong," she stated bluntly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"My mother's back in town." Taylor stated with a broken sigh as she took in the looks that Gabby and Sharpay were sending her. "Last night reunion was horrible. She brought home this guy who-." she trailed off and shook her head. "Let's talk about something else. I don't even want to think about that for the rest of the day." Gabriella just nodded her head in agreement as she looked at her friend.

"Fine we can talk about other things like how you know you can't start your day without us popping up on you." she replied with a small smile as she direction the conversation back towards their first topic.

"I agree with Gabby here. Us scaring you in the morning is a tradition."

"One I'm tired off." Taylor muttered under her breath, but couldn't keep the small off her face as she allowed her friends to guide her towards their first period class. Sharpay sent her look before a small devilish smile went across her face.

"Alright let's move on to something else, how is your boyfriend doing?" Sharpay asked while wiggling her eyebrows suggestively, which only made Taylor roll her eyes heavenward.

"He's not my boyfriend. He's my friend."

"Well I wish I had a friend that order his boys to look out for me," Sharpay stated with a shake of her head. "Come on Taylor just admit it. . . that boy got you, bodyguards." Gabriella giggled at Sharpay's statement while nodding her head in agreement.

"You have to admit it's really sweet what he did for you."

"I'll admit that, but I'm sure he did that because he's my friend and he doesn't like the fact that I was being bullied." Taylor stated with a sigh, as she remembered how upset he had been when he had learned that. "He's just a nice guy that's looking out for me."

"Sure whatever if that's what you want to believe." Sharpay stated with a roll of her eyes before reaching out and grabbing hold of Taylor's notebook. "You know you don't need to take any notes, it's just homeroom." Taylor found herself rolling her eyes at Sharpay a habit she was sure she had picked up from her.

"In case you couldn't tell. This is my music notebook. I figured while we were in Mr. Thompson class I could write something, instead of listening to him drone on and on about God knows what."

"Oh a Taylor original huh and will Gabby and I get a chance to sing over music." Sharpay pressed with a smirk. Taylor looked at her notebook for a moment, before nodding her head.

"You two know, you're the the only ones I trust to sing over my music."

"Good, I really can't want to hear it. You always write such good pieces." Sharpay gushed out happily. "Maybe you, Kelsi and Ryan can put your heads together and come up with a good concert for the end of the year." Taylor just raised an eyebrow at that before nodding her head.

"If you think that's a good idea." she mumbled still remembering the last time her, Kelsi and Ryan worked together on a concert back in middle school. It didn't turn out well, they were all good but just couldn't really work together. Sharpay sent her a look as she literally bounced for one foot to the other.

"Are you kidding? It's a great idea, Taylor." Sharpay replied just as two boys came up behind them and draped their arms around Sharpay and Gabriella.

"Hello ladies." The taller one said as he looked down at Sharpay with a smirk before glancing over at Taylor and Gabriella and sending them a nod as his greeting.

"Zeke." All three of them said in unison.

"How are you girls doing today. No trouble I hope." Zeke said as he looked at Taylor who just shook her head. "Good, well you know the drill. Chad and I here, as your official bodyguards are here to walk you and your lovely friends to homeroom."

"Do you have to sound like a game show host."

"What do you want me to sound like." Zeke asked as with a wink. "Just let me know and I'll do it." he replied with a large smile on his face. Sharpay merely rolled her eyes at him and turned away from him with a small smile on her face. Zeke seemed to be the only guy that could get under Sharpay's skin and he knew it. He messed with Sharpay at every opportunity ever since he official met her a couple weeks ago.

"We don't need bodyguards." Gabriella pointed out. "Besides aren't you two suppose to just look out for Taylor."

"Can't argue with that wonderful statement there," Chad replied as he looked over at Gabriella and blew her a quick kiss. "Our boy Troy did phone in the request for Ms. McKessie, but Zeke and I decided to look out for you and Sharpay too. It's only fair."

"Right it's only fair." Zeke replied as he tried to snake his arm around Sharpay's waist only to have her bat his hand away.

"You two should have been here earlier cause then you might have stopped these two from picking on me." Taylor muttered as she gave her friends a pointed look causing them both to gasp in shock at her claim.

"Taylor, we do not bully you," Sharpay stated with a furious shake of her head. "We are merely teasing you and stuff like that." Taylor just nodded her head while sending them both a look that told them she didn't believe a word they were saying as she headed down the hallway only to be hit into the wall by Mark Hudson and his band of followers. Mark glanced over his shoulder at her and chuckled.

"Oops! I guess you better watch where you're going next time huh." he shouted at her before turning around to see both Zeke Baylor and Chad Danforth standing in front of him with their arms crossed over their chest.

"Yo, man that's not cool." Chad snapped out angrily as he looked up at the Junior that had just assaulted Taylor. Mark narrowed his eyes at Chad and then looked back over his shoulder at Taylor who was now being flanked by her two friends.

"What are you going to do about it?" he snapped out, Chad stepped even closer, allowing his temper to rise. He glared up at the older boy, ready to start a morning brawl if he needed too. He may not have known Taylor before Troy called in his favor but now that knew her and consider her a friend. He definitely wasn't going to let some random guy pick on her for kicks because he didn't have anything better to do.

"Do you really what to find out, Mark? Cause I can-."

"Hey!" A deep baritone voice shouted out angrily from down the hall. They all turned and saw an older man approaching them, looking extremely pissed off. He finally made it down the hallway and came to stop right beside Mark and Chad, he looked over Mark's shoulder at Taylor and frowned.

"Mark, let me clue you in on something son. I'm not going to have guys on my team who find it funny to pick on women. Is this what you do in your spare time." he snapped as he stepped into Mark's personal space and stared down at him until Mark shamefully looked away from him and directed his gaze down at the floor.

"No sir."

Then why are you picking on her and then trying to start a fight with two young men that were trying to protect her," he snapped out angrily. "Just so you know. I don't want and won't have that type of attitude on my team. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Coach Woodson." Mark stated with a sigh.

"Good, now all of you get to class before you're late." Coach Woodson stood in the hallway and watched the little group of students quickly disperse and head to their classes. Releasing a sigh, he turned on his heel and headed towards his office.

"You know who that new teacher was, he's kinda of hot." Sharpay stated with a giggle as they all settled down at their usual lunch table. Taylor almost snort out her drink at the look that Zeke sent her as he settled down in the chair beside her. "Whew! I just might have to go to some practices and-."

"He's married." Zeke stated with a roll of his eyes. "Did you see his ring?" Chad chuckled then and shook his head.

"What Zeke is trying to tell you is to stop lusting after that teacher and look his way." he quickly ducked down as Zeke threw some of his fries over at him. "What man I'm just telling it like it is." Chad stated with a giggle as he looked at him. "Anyway the Coach that you're drooling over is Coach Woodson, the new. . .," he trailed off and looked over at Taylor for a moment. "He's the new basketball coach. They just hired him a few days ago to replace Troy's dad."

"Oh." Taylor murmured as she thought about how Troy would take the news, not that she was going to tell him. At least not yet. She was sure that the information would cause him pain and that was something she didn't want to be apart of.

"He's alright you know. He's a cool guy but Troy's dad was the best." Chad stated with a sigh as he shook his head as he thought about his friend and what he was currently going through. Taylor just nodded and looked down at her food. Zeke was about to speak up, so he could move the conversation to a topic that wouldn't be so heavy when Coach Woodson walked over to their table. He looked down and settled his gaze on Taylor.

"You're Taylor McKessie right." he asked.

"Yes I am." she stated.

"Alright can you come with me." Taylor sent her friends a lot before getting up and following Coach Woodson. He led her to the gym and to his office. Holding the door open, he waited till she she was seated before walking in and closing the door. "First off, I'm sorry for my player this morning. He will be dealt with, you have my word on that."

"Okay and thank you for doing that."

"You don't have to thank me. I won't stand for that type of attitude in my players and Mark is going to realize that or spend the rest of his high school career watching basketball games from the stands," he leaned back in his chair for a moment and tapped his fingers on the desk. "Well, let me really get down to business. As you know I'm Coach Bolton's replacement. I called you here because in a couple weeks the school will be having ceremony to honor Coach Bolton. I was speaking with some of the teachers and they told me that Troy his son hasn't been in school since the accident."

"He's grieving." Taylor stated simply.

"I know. . .I can't begin to imagine what he's going through," Coach Woodson stated with a shake of his head. "However, the teachers pointed out to me that you were tutoring him and I was wondering if you would tell him about the ceremony. The school wants him and his mother here for the ceremony." Taylor fingered the end of her shirt, and looked at Coach Woodson.

"I'll see what I can do, but you know-."

"I'm not trying to force you to do anything. Just think about it." Coach Woodson stated with a smile as he looked at Taylor who only nodded her head before getting up and walking out.

Troy pushed his book back and stared at Taylor who sat across the table. "Is something wrong?" he asked pulling Taylor out of her thoughts. Lifting her head, she looked over at him and shook her head as she set her pencil down.

"No, nothing's wrong."

"You sure, cause you aren't normally this quiet." Taylor sat back and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked at him.

"Are you trying to tell me I'm to talkative." Troy just smirked at her, his look telling her all she needed to know. "Oh so you got jokes today."

"Plenty." he murmured with a smile. "So are you going to tell me what's got you zoning out today. Cause I miss my study buddy."

"I'm sorry, I just have a lot on my mind." she replied truthfully as she looked at him. Troy didn't reply to her though, instead he stood up and walked over to her side of the table. She watched as he reached down and pulled out her chair. She turned and looked up at him, "What are you doing?"

"Come on we're going in the living room to talk." he stated bluntly. "History can wait. I wanna know what's wrong with you." He stepped back and watched as she carefully stood up and headed towards the living room. Pushing her chair back up to the table, he quickly followed behind her. Once they were in the living room, he sat down on the sofa and watched as she sat down on the other end. He placed his hands on his lap and looked at her. "What's going on, Taylor?"

"Nothing much I just-."

"Have a lot on your mind. Yeah, I heard you in there," he murmured as he pointed towards the dining room. "But I'd rather hear the truth."

"I just had a rough night last night that's all." she whispered not really sure if she should tell him about her mother. Troy raised an eyebrow at that and then just shook his head. He had a feeling that she wouldn't be telling him what had happened last night. He could tell by her face that even mentioning it was to hard for her.

"Well whenever you want to talk about it, just know that I am here for you." Troy stated with a soft smile. "I mean we're friends right."

"Yeah, we're friends." she admitted as she looked away from him. Then she thought about what Coach Woodson had told her. Lifting her gaze back up, she looked Troy in his eyes. "Um, there's something I need to tell you."

"What? Don't tell me you aren't going to be my tutor anymore." he stated with a chuckle, though the light didn't reach his eyes.

"No, it's not that." Taylor reassured him, secretly happy that he didn't want her to stop being his tutor. "It's something else and um, well today at school I was approached by Coach Woodson." she began and noticed that Troy's body had tensed up.

"Coach Woodson," he paused for a moment. "Who is he?" Taylor wrung her hands together as she looked up at Troy. She could see that the current route of their conversation was already taking a tole on him.

"He's the new um. . .basketball coach." Taylor stated with a sigh. "He wanted me to talk to you about coming down to the school when they have the ceremony for your father." Troy clenched his jaw and looked away from her. "I told him I would tell you. . .I didn't think keeping this away from you would be for the best."

"I'm glad you told me." Troy muttered out softly.

"Are you really? Cause you don't sound happy that I told you." she whispered, Troy turned his head then and looked at her before bowing his head and pinching the bridge of his nose. Taylor watched as he continued to hold his head down.

"I. . .I don't deserve to be there." Troy finally said with a shake of his head. "I don't deserve to be at any ceremony my father will have." he finally looked up at her and Taylor could see the tears in his eyes threatening to fall. Taylor quickly moved to his side, and pressed her hand to his arm.

"Troy what are you talking about of course you deserve to be there. He was your father." Taylor whispered as she took in Troy's tears.

"No, I don't." he whispered firmly as he turned to look at her his eyes red with unshed tears. Taylor studied him for a brief moment before shaking her head rapidly.

"I don't know where this is coming from but you deserve to be there. Your father would want you there, Troy."

"He may want me there," Troy stated before pausing and looked down at the carpet. "But I don't deserve to be there, not when I did this."

"Did what?" Taylor asked before covering her mouth with her hand and looking at Troy in utter surprise, she then felt a tear roll down her cheek as she realized why Troy claimed he didn't deserve to go. "Oh Troy." she whispered softly as she looked at him.

"I put him in the ground. . .," Troy whispered as he looked over at her. "If I hadn't bailed on him that night, he wouldn't have driven home so earlier and that drunk driver would-." Taylor quickly reached out and cupped Troy's face between her hands.

"I'm not going to let you place the blame on yourself for your father's accident, Troy. It was that idiot driver's fault. That was the person that took your father away from you. Not you." Troy just shook his head as he thought back to that night. The night that had been haunting him ever since his father passed away.

"Yeah well, the fact that he left earlier is on me." Troy mumbled as he pulled his face away from her hands and turned away from her. "You don't know what I've been living with and-."

"I do know what you've been living with Troy." she snapped out, causing Troy to turn around and really look at her. "You may think that, that you're the only one something like this has happened to but you're wrong. I lost my father in a car accident too, and it's all because I wanted us to go somewhere, to just get away." she paused and took a deep breath. "Well, we left and while we were out driving a car cut out in front of us. My father swerved to miss it, but we crashed instead. I had to sit in that car for over thirty minutes as we waited on the authorities. I watched my father die that day. I held his hand as he died, and you know what I kept thinking about that whole time," she moved away from him then and sighed. "I kept thinking that him dying was all my fault. It took me a while to get that out of my head." she whispered as she looked at him. "That's why I'm telling you that your father's death wasn't your fault and you deserve to go to school and celebrate his life and what he did at East High."

"But I left earlier, he wanted me to stay behind and practice and I just brushed him off like it was nothing and-."

"You could have done that any other day as well. You were the one in that car drunk, Troy. I know that your last conversation with your father wasn't pleasant but I'm sure he died loving you and your mother. I'm sure he didn't blame, and I'm also sure he was probably thanking God you weren't in that car with him." Taylor's words hit something inside of Troy and he leaned back on the sofa and just stared at the ceiling.

"You really are something else, do you know that." Troy whispered as he kept his gaze on the ceiling.

"I'm just trying to help you get that idea out of your mind. Your father loved you," she whispered as she looked at him. "I'm sure he wouldn't want you blaming yourself for something you didn't do." All Troy could do was nod his head.

"I'll think about it." he replied softly. "Maybe it's time I showed my face at East High again." Taylor smiled then and leaned her head on Troy's shoulder, missing the look he gave her out the side of his eye.

"I think that'll be a good thing. I know Zeke and Chad miss you." she murmured as she stifled a yawn while closing her eyes.

"They've been my friends since pre-k." Troy murmured as he continued to look up at the ceiling silently pleased by the closeness that he was currently sharing with Taylor at the moment. "They're good people."

"Oh I know. . .especially since they walk me to class everyday and make sure that no one bothers me. You know they might have a future in the bodyguard profession if basketball doesn't work out." Troy snorted then and shook his head.

"Oh is that what you think," he stated with a shake of his head. "Well, Zeke wants to be some type of master chief if basketball does or doesn't pan out. He's a good cook, loves to keep it under wraps but me and Chad know."

"And what does Chad want to do if basketball doesn't pan out." Taylor asked her voice becoming softer as another yawn escaped her.

"He's not sure. . .but I think he still wants to work in sports."

"And you."

"There's a lot of things I wouldn't mind doing." he stated as he shrugged his shoulders. "I haven't narrowed them down, but just know that I'm going to be very successful in the future." They were silent then. Troy listened to Taylor's soft breathing, and reached out for her hand. "I'm sorry about your father."

"You don't have to apologize about that, Troy.

"I do. I know sharing that with me was hard, and I was just sitting here acting like you didn't have clue what I was feeling and I'm sorry for that."

"I shared my story with you because I thought it would help you. Did it?" Troy lowered his head off the back of the sofa and looked down at the top of Taylor's head.

"Yeah it did."

"Good, I'm glad my story was able to help. Now be quiet, I think I need to take a nap and your arm is proving to be quite comfortable." Troy just chuckled, but did as requested. For the next hour, he just sat on the sofa in silence while Taylor rested her head on his shoulder and slept peacefully. He thought over everything that she had told him that afternoon, but mostly he just basked in the quietness and relaxed.

A/N: I'm a little bit under the weather so please excuse all errors.


	5. Chapter 5

I don't own anything.

**A/N: Alright it's time for another update but first off I want to thank my reviewers from last week; **_NaeNae1495, OriginallyImperfect, chaylorXtraylorlover, traylorlove, Aipom4, TragicTheGathering and chaylorfan_**. Thank you guys for the reviews a.k.a. my inspiration. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and please remember to Review.**

**Baby S**

Chapter Five

After Taylor left, Troy couldn't help but think about all the things that Taylor had shared with him that evening. She told him about how her father had died and how she had been there with him during his last moments. They also shared a secret of blaming themselves for their fathers' deaths. Taylor for the most part seemed to be handling her father's death quite well. He didn't know how she handled something like that but he admired the trait. He would be the first person to admit it, because he still wasn't handling his father's death well. The blame that he had placed on himself for his father untimely death had kept him from handling it it, but last night's conversation with Taylor had slowly made some of the guilt go away. Now he only felt guilty about the last words he spoke to his father. Words that didn't need to be said to his father during his last hour here on earth. He lifted his head up as the doorbell broke through his thought, glancing at the clock he smiled as he realized what time it was. Standing up, he quickly made it over to the door and opened and smiled as he saw Taylor standing on the other side with her trusty lap top bag in hand. He gave Wilson, her driver, a nod before reaching out and picking up Taylor's bag. "Hey." he murmured as he led her inside while closing the door. She looked at him silently, probably trying to gage where his mood was especially after their talk last night.

"Hey." she whispered back as she clasped her hands in front of her and rocked back on her heels. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright." Troy murmured as he looked at her. He walked into the dining room and sat her laptop bag down, he came back out just as Taylor started to follow him. Holding up his hands he looked over towards the stairs. "I wanted to ask you something?"

"Sure what is it?"

"Well it's kinda of a favor. I was wondering if you would be able to help me with something, if that's okay."

"Troy what is it?" she asked as she took off her jacket and draped it over the edge of the couch while still looking at him. Troy watched her for a moment before looking up the stairs where his mother probably was at the moment.

"I was wondering if you would help me tell my mother about the school ceremony, I would really appreciate if you did that." he rushed out, wincing at the awkwardness he heard in his voice. Taylor just smiled and nodded her head.

"No worries, Troy. I'll help you." she stated. "But first how about I give you, your treat." Troy raised an eyebrow almost immediately at her words, he looked over at her as if she had completely lost her mind.

"Excuse me treat-what for?"

"Well I remember last time you told me," she paused and shook her head. "I mean gave me a list of what you thought a good treat would be and since I just got back the results of that history exam I figured now would be the perfect time to give you a treat." Troy stood there silently as she walked pass him into the dining room and grabbed her laptop bag. She dug around in it for a bit before pulling out a small bag with two orange sherbet stick. "I had Wilson pick them up on the way here." she paused and held one out to him. "Congrats on a job well done." she stated with a wink.

"How'd you know these were my favorite?"

"I don't. I just know they'll mine." she replied back as she rolled back the paper on hers and took a soft swipe of it with her tongue. Troy followed her tongue with his eyes before quickly focusing on his ice cream.

"I guess that's something we have in common." Taylor only responded by a sound as she bit into her ice cream, Troy was sure his face was bright red as he watched her. "So does this treat mean I don't have to do any work today?" Taylor looked at him and slowly shook her head.

"No, when you finish this. . .we'll start with some more homework. We have to kept up the pace if you're suppose to be coming back to school next year." Troy looked down at her words then, and Taylor couldn't help but feel her own eyebrow raise in surprise. "This is your plan right."

"I don't know." he murmured with a shake of his head as he looked at her. "I kinda of like staying here," and having you come here to see me. He finished in his head, because he could tell just by the look that she was currently sending him that she wouldn't be very happy with that statement. "Oh come on don't give me that look."

"Oh I'm gonna give you that look, Troy." Taylor murmured with a shake of her head. "I can't believe you're seriously thinking about staying in this house for what the rest of high school." Troy sighed and looked down at her.

"If it's something I want to do. Then it's something I want to do." Taylor narrowed her eyes at him and marched across the room. Troy watched silently as she came to stop right in front of him.

"As your friend I'm not going to let you hide out in this house. I don't care how I do it but you'll be coming to school with me by next fall, I guarantee you that." Troy stated down at her and then slowly nodded his head.

"Fine."

"Good, let's not have this conversation again." she mumbled as she stepped back away from him. "Almost ruined the taste of this good ice cream with your nonsense." Troy just chuckled at her words and walked over to the sofa and sat down on the arm while watching her.

"I'm sorry then, but I guess I had to try." he murmured with a shrug of his shoulders. Taylor just gave him another look and he chuckled again before bitting off another piece of ice cream so he could have a reason to keep his mouth shut.

Nearly twenty minutes later, they were both finally sitting down at the dining room table working. Troy looked up from his science homework and studied Taylor for a bit. He took in the fact that this afternoon she wasn't extremely tired like she had been the night before. He didn't know if he was happy or sad about that fact. Considering, he really like how she had rested against him last night until Wilson had come to pick her up. The whole incident to him had been peaceful, she might have been embarrassed by it but he wasn't. He enjoyed every soft breath that she took and every little snuggle that she had done. It gave him something least to dream about besides the last conversation he had shared with his father. He didn't know if Taylor was a distraction for him especially when it came to him thinking about that night or if she was really a sign that he was moving on and thinking about other things. "I think it's my turn to ask if you something's wrong?" Taylor murmured over the silence, pulling Troy out of his thoughts and making him really look across the table at her.

"I'm sorry. I'm just think about some things." he answered vaguely.

"Oh good, cause I was seriously starting to think I wasted some ice cream on my clothes or face or something."

"Why would you say that?" he asked in confusion.

"Because you were staring at me so hard." she murmured as she met his confused gaze with her own. Troy didn't have to look in a mirror to know his cheeks red, he looked down as he blushed and tried to think of something else to say.

"Sorry about that." he murmured weakly. "I was really just lost in thought. I was just staring ahead and-."

"And I'm sitting right in front of you." Taylor finished with a nod of her head. "Got it." she finished with a shrug. Troy just sent her a small smile before looking back down at his work, while looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Do you want to know what I was thinking about?" he asked her softly. Taylor lifted her head and looked over at him for a moment before nodding her head. Troy however didn't say a word, he held out his hand.

"What are you doing?"

"You know you have to give me a penny for my thoughts. That's how this thing usually works when someone wants to know someone's thoughts." he stated with a childish grin as he looked at her. Taylor laughed and slapped his hand away from her.

"You're crazy. . .I'm not giving you a penny." she stated jokingly as she looked at him. Troy pulled back his hand and gave her a pout.

"Dang that hurts me right here." he placed his hand over his heart and looked at her. "And you seemed to be such a nice girl." Taylor just laughed and dropped her head on the table as she continued laughing.

"Oh you got me." Troy smiled as he watched her giggle before nodding his head and reaching out yet again for her hand. She stopped as he latched onto her fingers and gave them a gently squeeze. Lifting her head up, she looked at him silently as he spoke.

"I was wondering if you would come with me during the ceremony?" Taylor looked at him in confusion then and just shook her head.

"I'm going to be there, Troy. Coach Woodson told me it's going to take place in front of the whole school. No worries there." she murmured with a shrug of her shoulder. "Besides I wouldn't miss it I-." Troy sighed and pulled his hand free as he shook his head.

"No you aren't understanding me. What I mean is will you be there with me. . .with me," he paused at the look of uncertainty that crossed over. "I mean as a friend during the ceremony. You know like sitting there with me and things like that."

"I don't know."

"Oh come on, you're my friend Taylor. I need your support." She frowned and sat back in her chair, slowly shaking her head.

"There you go again with that pouting." she murmured as she looked at him. Troy lifted his gaze and stared her in the eyes before releasing a soft sigh.

"Well tell me is it working?" he asked giving her another look, before adding on to his pout. She smiled at him and then slowly nodded her head.

"I'm afraid it is this time." she whispered as she looked at him, before shaking her head. "But seriously don't expect that to work anymore. From now on I'm completely immune to that-that pout." she pointed out with a shake of her head. "Can't having you thinking you can get me to do things with just a pout." Troy smirked then and pulled his book towards him.

"Oh of course not." he answered sarcastically which only earned him another look from Taylor. "But seriously thanks for agreeing to come." Taylor just sent him a small smile, as Troy drummed his fingers on the table. "Now I just have to figure out a way to talk to my mom."

"And I'll be there with you. Don't worry I'm sure she'll handle it well." she whispered, Troy slowly nodded his head as Taylor reached across the table and patted the top edge of his book. "Now please back to work, please." When Troy lifted his head, he saw Taylor was trying to pout up at him. Smirking, he pulled his book closer to him and just looked at her. Taylor kept up the pout for a little longer before Troy sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"That look is truly embarrassing." he stated jokingly as he looked back up at her. Taylor stopped pouting and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Oh so it doesn't work."

"Nope!" Troy replied popping the 'p,' in the word as he looked at her. "But I'll just go ahead and study since that's what you want me to do right." he stated with a soft chuckle as he shook his head. "Besides the master of the pout can't be forced to do something with a pout. Just doesn't make sense."

"You don't make sense." Taylor countered as she playfully stuck her tongue out at him. Troy just sighed and sat his book down.

"And now you're forcing me to rebel against you with that little snarky remark and move there." he stated as he looked across the table at Taylor before sighing as if his world was falling apart all around him. "And I really wanted learn all about," and looked at the book before him. "Shakespeare's Sonnets."

"Troy!" Taylor countered as she looked at him from across the table, he sighed then and picked up the book.

"You know maybe it's your eyes that makes people want to do things for you. They can get all kinds of scary sometimes." he muttered as he picked back up the book and started reading. Taylor just smiled and returned her attention back to her work. Wondering if Troy had almost been so playful because she had to admit that she liked it.

When their allotted time for studying was up, Troy helped pack Taylor's bag and looked anxiously towards the stairs. Taylor looked up and followed his gaze and then reached out and placed a hand on his arm. "Do you want to do this now?" Troy slowly tore his gaze away from the stairs and allowed it to settle on Taylor.

"Um no not really. It's late and if she hasn't been downstairs yet she kinda just wants to be left alone for the night." he admitted softly, and Taylor could see from his gaze that shifted back to the stairs that he was deeply worried about his mother.

"Well we can tell her some other time like maybe tomorrow." she suggested, Troy slowly nodded as an idea popped into his head. "How about we tell her tomorrow over dinner. She needs a nice home cooked meal. I know she hasn't felt like cooking in awhile but that doesn't mean I can't cook for her with your help of course."

"What makes you think I cook?" Taylor asked in utter surprise as she look at Troy who was now focusing all of his attention on her. "I could be a horrible cook for all you know," she stuttered out as she looked up at him. "Heck I can burn toast?"

"That's how my mother likes it." Troy countered with a smile, Taylor eyed his bottom lip almost positive that he was going to poke the thing out at any moment.

"I can't even boil water."

"That's how my mother likes it. . .the steam, she says helps gets the kitchen settled in the right temperature for cooking." he grinned at the face, she made and just smiled down at her then. Taylor frowned and placed her hands on her hips.

"I guess it doesn't matter what I say then does it." Taylor stated mainly to herself. "You're just going to fine something witty to say for ever negative trait I bring up." Troy just shrugged his shoulders and leaned down towards her ear.

"You can either keep trying or you just say you'll help." He pulled back away from her with a small smile on his face as he looked down at her. "So what will it be Ms. Taylor, will you continue to try and find a way out of all this or will you help a friend fix dinner for his mother." As he finished his statement he produced another pout that had Taylor rolling her eyes and muttering that she'd help him.

By the time Taylor finally made it home, it was a little later than she normal. As soon as she opened the door she was greeted by her mother and Charles. Taylor watched wearily as her mother placed her hands on her hips and glared at her. "And just why are you coming in at this time of night." Taylor merely shrugged her shoulders but at the stiffening of Charles answered her mother.

"I was tutoring and we went over." Whitney McKessie arched an eyebrow at that and shared a glanced with Charles.

"Tutoring that goes into the night, Taylor." Unable to keep her anger in any longer, Taylor found herself rolling her eyes at the false concern she heard dripping from her mother's lips.

"Yes, I'm tutoring at night. I only start when I get out of school and since he's far behind in his work I stay there to help him." Taylor stated with a huff, she had really stayed late so her and Troy could get through with his work for tomorrow so he could cook his mother a dinner and also tell her about the ceremony for his father that the school was holding.

"I feel like calling that school and telling them that you will-."

"Why would you do that?" Taylor snapped out angrily. "I'm not doing anything wrong. I really don't know why you're acting like you're this great mother especially when you and I both know that isn't true." Taylor snapped out, Whitney's mouth dropped open in shock for a moment before narrowing her eyes.

"How dare you?"

"How dare I?" Taylor stated pointing a finger towards her chest. "No mom how dare you? We've already had this conversation before do you really want to have it again." Taylor asked as she flicked her gaze over towards Charles who stood watching her silently. Whitney narrowed her gaze at her daughter for a moment before speaking.

"You keep up this attitude and there will be some changes." Whitney snapped out angrily. "You can try me if you want, I'd really like to see if you can." Whitney stated smugly as she sent Taylor a look. Taylor stood there in front of her mother and just sighed. She didn't want to try and push her mother's hand. In fact the threat she made earlier about possibly taking tutoring away from her really frightened her because nowadays the best part of her day was seeing Troy. She enjoyed their time together and didn't want to see that change anytime soon.

"Fine can I go to my room now."

"Yeah sure whatever." Whitney snapped out as Taylor quickly hightailed it towards the stairs intent on getting away from her mother and Charles. Once they were alone, Charles looked over at Whitney and shook his head.

"The girl is still too disrespectful for my taste." Whitney looked over at him and placed her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, well she got with the program tonight. She didn't try to fight me tonight. I think you scared her the other night with that little grab action of yours." Charles tilted his head back and looked up at the ceiling.

"I don't really don't care if I scared her. She shouldn't have been disrespectful. She's lucky I didn't do more, now let's go to bed." Charles stated with a shrug as he started up the stairs as well. When he didn't hear Whitney following behind him, he turned and looked down at her. "Well are you coming to bed or what?" Whitney just nodded her head and then quickly headed up the stairs after him.

The next day, Taylor quickly left with for school and was silently thankful that Charles and her mother had left her alone for the night. She really didn't like them confronting her like they did and she knew that since she was going to be staying for dinner with Troy tonight that things wouldn't be much better. As she entered the school, Sharpay Evans quickly latched onto her arm. "What's that smile for?" Sharpay asked as a bright smile went across her face while looking at Taylor who at the moment held a very surprised look on her face. Taylor really didn't know she had been smiling, turning she looked at Sharpay who seemed to read Taylor's thoughts. "Oh yeah you were smiling big enough for the both of us. If you were anyone else I would have just thought you were feeling a little cocky about some new toothpaste."

"New toothpaste," Taylor repeated with a shake of her head. "You know you truly are something else, Sharpay."

"I'm going to ignore the underlying insult in that statement and just assume that when you said I was something else that you meant I was you fabulous or something equally as nice." Sharpay gushed as she looked at her friend. "Now seriously what put that lovely smile on your face." Taylor didn't know if she wanted to tell Sharpay that she had been thinking about Troy, even though when she was thinking about him it had been in the context that her mother would be upset with her getting home late from having dinner with-."

"There it is again." Sharpay exclaimed cutting into her thoughts again. "Oh alright now you know, you have to tell me."

"I was just thinking about something, Sharpay."

"Look, you know you get on my nerves when you avoid my questions." Sharpay pointed out with a sigh. "So please just tell me what is going on, with you Taylor." Taylor didn't say anything instead she walked over to her locker and started putting her books away, while Sharpay hung near her tapping her foot impatiently. "Well."

"I'm having dinner with Troy and his mother tonight." Taylor finally stated as she closed her locker shut and turned to look at Sharpay who had a silly grin now plastered on her face. "Oh come on Sharpay it isn't that serious." Sharpay's eyes widened in shock as she looked at her friend for a moment before slowly shaking her head.

"What are you talking about of course it is. Your boyfriend wants you to have dinner with him and his mother. You're meeting the par-," she paused for a moment and bit her lip before continuing. "You're meeting the mother and that usually doesn't happen until after you hang out with the friends for a while but I guess since he has them playing bodyguards for you, you've already met them."

"It isn't like that. He just wants me there to help out with telling his mother. I guess he needs me there for support."

"Yeah, needs his girlfriend there for support. Oh, Taylor I'm so happy for you. I know this is like your first official boyfriend since well elementary school and we all know those don't count anymore." Taylor raised an eyebrow at Sharpay's words and looked utterly offended.

"What do you mean it doesn't count anymore. Kyle Bennett was a sweet guy. I mean he brought me candy and he even got my dad to agree to letting him and his mom take me to a movie." Taylor pointed out with a smirk. "That does count and wherever he is now I'm sure he is making some girl happy."

"Yeah, well Kyle is the past and this is present. Troy is really your first official boyfriend since we starting changing classes every fifty minutes."

"He's not my boyfriend. He's a friend that wants me to be there for him tonight and I have absolutely no problem with that."

"No problem with what?" Gabriella asked as she walked to them, Sharpay looked at her before glancing back at Taylor.

"Troy invited Taylor over to his house for dinner."

"It wasn't an invite Sharpay, geez. I'm already gonna be there to tutor him, I'll just be staying for dinner." Sharpay just rolled her eyes at Taylor and looked back at Gabriella who was looking on with a small smile on her face.

"It's an invite to dinner no matter what she says." Taylor just rolled her eyes at her friend's antics and released a soft sigh that as Gabriella started talking about what Taylor should wear to dinner like she had time to go home and change. Instead she just decided to listen to her friends chatter on and on about what she should do at the dinner tonight, as they pulled her towards class. All she could do was thank God, Chad and Zeke weren't there. She didn't want this conversation to have any chance of getting back to Troy.

"Alright are you ready to get started?" Troy asked as he held the door open for her and gave Wilson a wave before reaching down and taking the lap top bag from Taylor's hand. Closing the door, he turned and saw her with her hands pressed to her hips and the most adorable frown on her face. He turned fully so he could look at her and smirked. "What?" he asked with a small smirk going across his lips. She studied him for a bit.

"Do I not even get a hello."

"Hello Taylor. How are you? Are you ready to get started?" he called out in rapid fashion as he set her things aside and walked over to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He looked down at her and grinned widely.

"I really am not liking you right now." Taylor muttered with a roll of her eyes as Troy followed behind her with a large grin on his face.

"I'm sorry. . .it's just that I like picking on you." Taylor turned then and placed her hands on her hips and Troy was once again greeted with that all adorable frown that he liked seeing. "But I'll stop because you'll here to help me." he stated as if reading her mind. Clasping his hands together, he looked over her shoulder towards the kitchen. "I guess we should get started then huh."

"What are we cooking?" Taylor asked as she allowed Troy to place his hand at the small of her back and lead her into the kitchen.

"And old family recipe," he paused for dramatic effect and looked over at Taylor. "Spaghetti."

"That isn't an old family recipe, Troy." she admonished with a shake of her head. Troy just smirked and nodded his head.

"I guess you're correct, it isn't but I seriously didn't think we could handle anything else. It seems like an easy enough recipe and -."

"We'll figure it out come on let's get started." she mumbled as she reached for for his hand and pulled him towards the stove. "Did you at least print off a recipe." Troy walked over to the counter and picked up a piece of paper with his handwriting on it.

"Yeah I did, it's says we need to boil the water with a little salt in it and then add the noodles and it also says once you add the noodles you need to brown the meat." he lifted his head up and looked at her with a small smile. "See it sounds real simple, and I'll be here to watch over the water so you would steam out all the water." he pointed mentioning to her what she had used as an excuse the other day. Rolling her eyes she walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a large pot and handed it to Troy.

"Boil the water in this and don't forget the salt and I'll get the other things ready." Troy just focused on Taylor as he took the pot from her hands.

"I knew asking you to help me would be a good idea," he stated with a wink. "I think this dinner will turn out to be good." Taylor just nodded her head as she walked around the kitchen trying to find out where the rest of the ingredients were.

"Hopefully next time you want to cook dinner you can do it by yourself." Troy looked up from the pot that was now filled with water and was slowly heating on the stove in front of him. Glancing over at Taylor who was pulling out a large packet of ground beef, he spoke up.

"I'll keep that in mind. Maybe next time I'll cook for you." Troy called out, which only caused Taylor to pause in what she was doing and look over at him with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, maybe I'll cook you a thank you dinner once you're done tutoring me."

"Geez, why can't you just take me out for ice cream or something." Taylor asked with a smirk as she pulled out a large circular pan, while Troy looked at her from his position at the stove. Walking over to him she placed the pan down on a free stove eye and looked up at him. "What?"

"Are you trying to say something about my future cooking?"

"I didn't think I tried. I thought I did." Troy chuckled then as Taylor looked over at him and raised an eyebrow in challenge. Troy looked back down at the boiling water and released a well practiced sniff before looking over at her again.

"You know you just hurt my feelings." he muttered with a pout, but Taylor could tell by his eyes that he was playing. "So just for that I'll fix you a baloney sandwich for a treat how does that sound."

"Edible." Taylor replied back with a smirk as she took in Troy's face. "You know that little pout of yours isn't going to work on me forever."

"Sure whatever you say, but I think I'll use it until you're sure it no longer can be used how does that sound to you." he said with a wink. "Besides you've already talked yourself out of any future food I might have learned how to cook so you shouldn't try to rid yourself of the adorable looks I can make with this face."

"Oh my God, you really are full of yourself."

"I suppose so." he muttered back with a shrug of his shoulders. "But we both know that you like it." he countered as he turned to look at her. "The waters boiling so what now?" effectively changing the flow conversation, and judging by the reddening of his cheeks he hadn't meant for that last statement to slip out.

"We add the noodles, Troy." Taylor replied with a shake of her head. "I did just read you the recipe, you would think-."

"Don't do it. Don't insult me, my heart won't be able to take it." Troy replied with a smirk as he took the box from Taylor and dropped them into the pot, picking up a spoon he stirs the contents of the pot a few times while looking over at Taylor.

"Better pay attention to the meat. It said brown not burnt."

"Ha ha, you think you're so funny."

"Hey I'm just looking out for the food. This isn't just my mom's dinner. It's our as well." he pointed out with a shrug of his shoulders. "I like my food edible too." he replied using a term she had used on him moments earlier.

"I bet you think, you're funny." Troy tilted his head back and gave her a look that suggested he was going to be the one who got the last word.

"Hilarious, that's what I am. Now let's focus on this food, the less you look at me and my lovely face the more we'll get done." Taylor could only roll her eyes at his statement, while Troy just returned his attention back to what he was doing with a very pleased smile on his face.


	6. Chapter 6

I don't own anything.

**A/N: Another week another update, first off I want to thank my reviewers from last week; **_chaylorXtraylorlover, Aipom4, NaeNae1495, sweetchocolate26, LunaSolTierra, MermaidRam85, rkogrl3, Phelycia, and chaylorfan_**. Thank you and I hope everyone enjoys this new chapter I have mixed feelings about this one. Anyway please Review and tell me what you think.**

**Baby S**

Chapter Six

Troy stepped away from the kitchen table with a small satisfied smile on his face as he looked over the work that he and Taylor had done. Releasing a sigh, he lifted an arm up and draped it over Taylor's shoulders as she came to stand by him. Ignoring the look that she sent him, he kept his gaze on the table and spoke up with a pride that parents usually held for their children. "We did good." he murmured. "We did real good." Taylor merely shook her head and smirked at his statement while ducking beneath his arm so she could move out from underneath him. Once she was free, she turned and looked over at him with a grin.

"You're crazy, you do know that right." she replied with a softly chuckle. "But I am glad you appreciate all my hard work." As soon as she finished the statement she released a cocky smile and looked over at him. Troy crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes at her words while raising an eyebrow at her statement.

"Your hard work?" he questioned with a scoff before looking back over at the table and then pointing a finger at his chest.

"I helped too." Taylor smirked then and walked over to him and pinched his cheek gently. Troy just stared down at her as she wiggled the little flesh of his cheek between her fingers. Thankfully it didn't hurt as bad as his aunt's pinches did.

"That you did," she finally stated as she released him and lowered her head. "But let's face it you were my kitchen grunt." She smiled as she looked at the frown that came across his features as he heard the title she had given him.

"Grunt!" he exclaimed comically as he stared at her. "I've been called a lot of things in my life but never the term grunt. If this is a new pet name for me I think you'd better forget it. I need something a little better than that." he replied with a shake of his head. "As for the food we're going have a talk about that but right now I need to go and get my mother. Just don't call me grunt in front of her." he pointed out with a grin that let Taylor know he had gotten the joke and was okay with it. For awhile there she hadn't been sure that he had gotten her teasing but she was glad he had. Troy wagged his finger at her as if telling her to behave and then quickly disappeared upstairs.

Troy bounded up the stairs two at a time as he shook his head at Taylor's little joke downstairs, yeah right like he was her grunt. As he walked down the hallway, he headed straight for his father's study he knew that's where his mother would be, it was where she always was during is tutoring sessions with Taylor. He figured she went in there now, because she thought he wasn't going to pay attention to her and what she was doing but he was always aware. He paused for a moment outside of his father's study, he didn't think it'd be a good idea if he just walked in and disturbed his mother so instead he knocked on the door.

"Troy?" his mother called out her voice holding a hint of surprise. "It was obvious that she probably thought that he'd still be downstairs tutoring.

"Mom, can you please come to the door?" he called back, he took a quick step back as his mother swung the door to his father's study open. Lillian Bolton stood in the doorway looking at Troy, studying him as if something was wrong. When she didn't see any outward sigh that he was in trouble she sighed.

"What's wrong Troy?" she asked in confusion.

"I," he paused and lifted a hand, nervously rubbing it along the back of his head. A trait he picked up from his father because he knew his father did the same thing when his mother confronted him about little things he had forgotten to do around the house. "I was, well Taylor and I cooked dinner and I was hoping that you would come down and join us." Lillian looked surprised at his words.

"Oh Troy you don't have to worry about me. I wouldn't want to-."

"It's no problem Mom. Besides I was hoping that you would join us, there's something I need to tell you." Lillian looked at her son, a flash of worry going across her face as she studied him briefly for a few seconds before nodding her head.

"Okay I'll be down in a few seconds." She leant forward and pulled Troy into a tight hug. "Thank you for dinner, I'm sure it'll be great." Troy just wrapped his arms around his mother and patted her back awkwardly before she let him go. Turning on his heel Troy headed back downstairs. As he jumped onto the landing at the bottom of the stairs, he heard Taylor fussing in the kitchen. Curious as to what had upset her, he slowly walked towards the kitchen listening to her one sided conversation. She sounded extremely annoyed with whoever she was currently talking too.

"I'll be home soon," she followed her words with an annoyed groan. "I'm just helping out a friend alright," Troy stood there just listening to the tension in her voice. Whoever it was on the other end, Troy was pretty positive that Taylor didn't like them. "Of course Wilson knows. Look I'll be home when I'm done. Why! Cause I'm not going to just drop everything and leave my friend hanging alright Mom." With that said, Taylor hung up her cellphone and turned around. Troy would have told her the little scowl and pout of her lips looked cute but he didn't want to be on the receiving end of her wrath.

"Trouble at home?" Troy asked as he met her gaze, not really sure what he should say to her. Taylor just shook her head for a moment as she looked at him before sighing.

"There's always been trouble at home even before my-." she paused not really sure if she should finish that statement since Troy was dealing with the lost of his own father. There's just always been trouble at home." she finished as she tucked her phone back into her pocket. "Don't worry about it, Troy."

"I'm not worried about it. . . I'm worried about you. If you need to go home-." he started to say as he walked over to her but stopped when Taylor merely shook her head and looked at him.

"I'll go home when the dinner is over. Wilson won't be here for another hour, so I'm sure the dinner will be done by then." she stated with a shrug of her shoulders. "My mom is only doing this because she wants to control me or something."

"Alright then. I guess I better drop this. I don't want you upset during dinner it might upset your little tummy." he replied as he walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Taylor looked at him slowly absorbing his last comment before playfully knocking his hand off her shoulder.

"My little tummy."

"Well," he paused and gave her the once over. "Well yeah. You're little tummy. Let's face it Taylor, you're a little on the short side."

"Are you calling me a midget?" Troy just smirked, glad he had been able to get her thoughts off of whatever it was that was currently causing to be upset. He didn't like her upset and seeing the little smile on her face now made him feel better.

"Well if the little shoe fits." she gasped and smacked his arm lightly just as a throat cleared behind them. Turning around, they both saw Troy's mother standing there watching them with an amused expression on her face.

"Troy are you harassing the young lady kind enough to cook for us." Lillian asked as she glanced at her son.

"Hello Mrs. Bolton and yes he was harassing me but I'm afraid I can't take all the credit for this lovely meal." Taylor stated as she lifted her arms and turned towards the table. "Troy helped as well." she glanced over at Troy who seemed to be on the edge of his seat wondering if she would in fact call him her grunt.

"Oh really he helped." Lillian replied as she looked over at her son with a bright smile on her face. "Well this is certainly going to be interesting." she stated with a smile, as she moved towards the table. Troy quickly pulled out her chair and helped her sit down before moving over to Taylor to do the same.

"Thank you, Troy." Taylor stated softly as she looked over at him. He grinned and gave her a brief head nod before moving to a seat by her side. As soon as he sat down, they all started to eat. Calming passing around the food and filling their plates. They all eat and calmly talk about about Troy and his work or Taylor and how she got into tutoring. Finally as the dinner died down, Lillian looked over at her son.

"Troy now would be a good time to tell me what it is that you wanted to tell me?" Troy who had his fork poised in the air, paused and looked over at her for a moment before sharing a glance with Taylor who gave him an encouraging nod.

"Well Mom, Taylor here told me that East High was going to have a tribute ceremony for Dad and they wanted us to come and be the guests of honor-." he paused as he saw the look in his mother's eyes. "They just wanted to know if we would come." As he finished the sentence he looked over at Taylor who just nodded her head at them. Lillian placed a hand on her chest and gave him a look before lifting a hand and wiping a tear from her eye.

"Of course we're going, Troy." Lillian finally said as she looked at her son. "This is a good thing, your father would be honored." she admitted with a sigh as she reached across the table and grabbed Troy's hand. "He would be so honored." Troy looked at his mother and slowly nodded his head, as he watched her.

"So you're okay with that."

"Of course I am. I know I'm still," she paused and waved her hand in the air not really wanting to say the word grieving out loud but Taylor and Troy got it. "well you know, but I'm not going to miss out on Jack getting honored. He would want me there and that's where I'll be." Troy just nodded his head then and looked over at Troy.

"I also wanted to ask you if it would be okay if Taylor sat with us." Lillian looked between her son and Taylor for a brief moment, her eyes seemed to be calculating something before she just sat back in her chair and smiled over at Taylor.

"I don't see a problem with that. She's a family friend now." Taylor blushed at the statement just as a knock at the door sounded. Troy looked surprised, but Taylor simply pushed her chair back and looked at them both.

"I'm sorry but that's probably my ride." she pointed out. Troy quickly pushed back his own chair and stood up as well.

"I'll walk you out." he quickly said as he moved over to her side. As they exited the kitchen, Lillian turned and watched as they went into the living room.

"Taylor." she called out.

"Yes ma'am." Taylor called back as she looked back at Lillian Bolton who was now standing and walking over towards her. The older woman pulled her into her arms and hugged her tightly. Taylor was so overwhelmed by the gesture that she hugged the older woman back just as tightly. Lillian slowly pulled away from Taylor and smiled down at her.

"Thank you for the dinner, it was absolutely delicious." she replied, she gave Taylor one last squeeze before she headed out of the living room. Taylor turned and looked over at Troy who had been watching the scene silently.

"She's right you know. Thanks for the help." he stated sincerely as he studied her. They both looked up as the doorbell sounded. "Geez, Wilson sounds quite impatient tonight." Troy replied as with a shrug of his shoulders.

"My mother probably called him complaining about me and what I'm doing." Taylor replied with a shrug. Troy just gave her a look, wondering just what type of mother Taylor really had. Taylor didn't come off to him as some type of rebel child hellbent on making her mother's life miserable. No in fact the way Taylor talked it seemed to be the other way around like her mother was hell bent on making her life as miserable as possible. Pulling open the door, he smiled at Wilson who stood crowding the doorway with his hand raised to knock on the door again.

"Hello Wilson."

"Hello Mr. Bolton." Wilson stated stiffly as he looked over at Taylor who was merely rolling her eyes at Wilson's manner. Troy tilted his head back and gave Wilson a look of wonderment.

"Wow, Mr. Bolton. . .really man. I wasn't really expecting anyone to call me that for about maybe ten more years." Troy stated with a smirk. Wilson merely crossed his arms behind his back and gave Troy a look.

"I see, well sorry to disappointment Mr. Bolton."

"It's Troy. Just like you told me to call you Wilson, call me Troy." with that said he handed Wilson, Taylor's bag and smiled.

"Very well Mr. Troy," he stated as he turned to look at Taylor who was trying her best not to laugh at the current expression on Troy's face. "Ms. Taylor I will be waiting by the car and we can leave after you have said your good-byes." With that said, Wilson sent Troy another nod and then walked out of the house with Taylor's bag.

"Is he serious? He called me Mr. Troy." Troy muttered as he followed Wilson with his eyes. Taylor just released a soft giggle and shook her head as Troy turned to look at her. He smiled briefly for a moment before sighing. "What? I'm just asking a question."

"Oh it's nothing. Wilson does that with everybody even me. Do you know how long it took for him to call me Ms. Taylor. For the longest time he refused to call me anything but Ms. McKessie but after I ignored him a few times he switched to Ms. Taylor and that's just what he calls me." Troy shook his head and just sighed.

"Well I guess I'll have to ignore him until he calls me Troy." he pointed out. "Thanks for helping me talk to my mother tonight."

"It was no problem I was happy to help." Troy smiled and walked over to Taylor and pulled her into his arms. He wrapped her up tightly and just held her to him for a few minutes. Taylor carefully lifted her arms up and wrapped them around him as well. They stood like that for a minute before Troy reluctantly pulled away from him. "You're a good friend."

"So are you. I guess I should be going now. Tell your mother that I said good-bye." Troy walked her to the door and nodded his head.

"Do worry I will. Um, are you going to be at the group therapy session this friday." he asked nervously as he looked down at her.

"I'm there every friday Troy. Will you be there?"

"Yeah I will." he stated smoothly as he looked down at her and then nodded his head towards the car. "I guess you better go, Wilson is looking mighty anxious right now." Taylor turned and looked at Wilson before quickly heading to the car. The look on Wilson's face said it all her mother had called and fussed at him about her. "Bye Taylor." Troy called out with a smile, as Taylor rushed down his walkway she turned around and waved back at him.

"Bye Troy."

When Taylor finally got home that night she was once again greeted by her mother and her boyfriend, both of them were sitting in the living room waiting on her. Taylor who had been rushing through the house to get to her room slowed down as Charles stood up and blocked her path, while her mother remained seated with a scowl on her face. "Do you know what time it is?" Whitney asked her daughter as she put aside the magazine that she had been pretending to read. Taylor not really sure if she should take her eyes off of Charles just spared her mother a quick glance before looking back at her mother.

"It's 8:30."

"Exactly and a school night. Why are you just now getting home?" Whitney asked coldly as she looked at her daughter. Taylor narrowed her eyes at her mother's words and turned to look at her no longer caring about Charles.

"I was doing my job. I was tutoring," Taylor snapped out tired of this act her mother kept trying to perform for her boyfriend. "I really wish you would stop doing this. I've been doing this for the longest time alright."

"You never came home at 8:30 before." Whitney stated with an all-knowing nod that did nothing except piss Taylor off. Setting her bag on the floor, she glared at her mother and shook her head angrily before pointing an accusing finger out.

"How in the world do you know what I did before, when you were out at all times of night. You do know that I've never seen you in the house this late before right. You used to come into this house drunk and stumbling all over yourself. Dad knew you were cheating, but he foolishly probably tried to stay with you for me. Cause he knew you just bitch enough to try and take me away from him just so you could get some money and-." Taylor couldn't finish her tirade as Charles stalked over to her and grabbed hold of her wrist. It felt like he was trying to crush her bones.

"You need to watch you mouth little girl." he snarled into her ear as he continued to squeeze her wrist so hard that Taylor was literally bending down from the pain. "Apologize?"

"I won-," she paused again as he continued to squeeze her hand tightly until finally Taylor rushed out a quick apology. Once she said the desired words, Charles picked up his foot and kicked her in the back. He stood over her and watched as she fell to the floor, injuring her wrist further because she instinctually used her hands to braced her fall. As Taylor released a soft hiss of pain as she scrambled up and looked over at Charles who was still standing over her looking like he wanted to do more damage. She looked down at her wrist and saw that the skin had become inflamed and swollen.

"Charles doesn't like it when you disrespect me." Whitney stated calmly as if she hadn't just seen her daughter being manhandled by her own boyfriend. "If you keep that little disrespectful streak up I won't be able to stop him from wanting to teach you some manners." Taylor looked at her mother in shock.

"Now I don't want to have this type of conversation again. You better be home at a decent hour, Taylor or else." Taylor's eyes immediately drifted over to Charles who was still standing over here looking like he wanted to get to the 'or else,' at that very moment. Cradling her wrist in her hand she slowly pulled herself up. She could feel tears at the back of her eyes but she refused to let them fall. "Do you understand me."

"Yes." Taylor said, just wanting to go to her room and get away from her mother and Charles. Whitney eyed her for a few more minutes before giving her a nod. Taylor quickly went to her bag and picked it up with her uninjured hand and rushed by Charles who kept his eyes locked on hers. Whitney followed Taylor with her eyes.

"Taylor!" Whitney's cold voice stopped Taylor cold, turning around she looked at her mother who sat watching her from the same position.

"You're right. I did cheat on your father and do you want to know something else. Do you want to know why he never left me?" Taylor remained standing still looking at her mother in fear. She truly didn't want to hear what she had to say. "Cause he knew if he took me to court he'd lose you mainly because you might not have been his and what court would give a child over to a man that isn't even her father. There's enough courts already that won't give a child to their own fathers. You go upstairs and you think about that." Whitney replied as she glared down at her daughter. Whitney turned to walk away but paused and turned back around to look at Taylor. "What are you waiting on, go upstairs it's pass your bedtime little girl."

The next day Taylor was in a world of pain not only physical but emotional as well, her mother's bombshell had blown her entire world apart. She didn't know what she'd do if she wasn't a real McKessie. All her mother cared about was hurting her, she sat back in the car as Wilson drove to the Bolton house. He had taken her to the hospital earlier that morning and had gotten her wrist checked out. Charles had actually given her a hairline fracture on the bone and now she was wearing a mini cast. She didn't want to think about what her mother or Charles would do when they saw that she had been to the hospital and had gotten her wounds taken care of. Wilson had been furious when he saw Taylor that morning and had always walked into the McKessie manor with the intention of teaching Charles a lesson. It had taken Taylor a lot of pleading to get him to stop, she didn't want him to lose his job one she knew he needed. "Perhaps you can go over to one of your friends' home. I'm sure if they knew the situation."

"Gabby and Shar would tell their parents and then this whole thing would be taken to court and-." she trailed off and placed her forehead in the palm of her good hand. "Look, I'll figure something out Wilson."

"They want something. . .maybe that's why Whitney is inserting herself into your business. She never cared before about what you did so this doesn't make much sense." Wilson muttered as he tried to figure out why Whitney was doing all of this.

"Well, she'll give herself away sooner rather than later." Wilson looked into the rearview mirror and nodded his head slowly.

"I'm sure she will." Wilson muttered as he pulled up outside the Bolton household. Turning off the car, he got out and quickly helped Taylor from the car before rushing to the trunk and getting out her laptop bag. "I wish you would at least stay with me and my family for the night."

"That is only going to cause more problems." Taylor pointed out softly as she looked at the older man. "My mother would never go for that and she would try to get you fired and who knows what type of lie she would use to get that done."

"Do you think I care?" Wilson snapped out as he looked down at the girl he considered a daughter. "I can't stand by and watch as that woman allows that man to hurt you." he stated angrily. "At least consider it, Taylor. I don't need you to protect me." he added on as he placed his hand on her back and led her up to the front door. He knocked on it and stepped back and waited for Troy to open the door. When Troy opened the door, he looked at the somber faces of Taylor and Wilson and knew something was wrong. He allowed his eyes to shifted fully over to Taylor, he looked into her eyes and saw that they were dull with pain.

"What's wrong Taylor? Did something happen?" he asked in rapid succession as he looked at her. Taylor just shook her head and stepped into the house while Wilson handed her bag over to Troy with a tired sigh. Wilson looked over at Taylor for a moment before turning around and walking away. Troy closed the door and set her laptop bag down and looked over towards Taylor.

"Alright do you want to tell me what's wrong now cause believe I can wait." he stated as he crossed his arms over his chest and stared at her. Taylor looked at her for a moment before shaking her head and turned on her heel. Troy quickly rushed across the room and grabbed a hold of her wrist but dropped as Taylor released a painful hiss. "What in the hell?" he asked as he gently picked up Taylor's arm and pulled back her jacket sleeve. He took in the small red inflamed hand and the small cast and then looked back up at Taylor his blue eyes dark with rage. "What is this? Who did this to you?"

"Troy don't worry about it we need to study."

"To hell with studying. . . are you telling me that someone hurt you and you want to just forget about it. Was it some bully at school," he paused and shook his head for a moment. No way would Zeke and Chad let some guy get away with hurting her. "I hope Zeke and Chad got him. . . but you need to show the principal or something." he muttered as he looked back at her his eyes glued to the small cast on her wrist.

"It wasn't some bully."

"Then who would-." Taylor watched as Troy paused and his eyes widened in utter shock and she knew he was remembering the conversation he had walked in on last night right before they had dinner with his mother. "Oh God no." he muttered softly as he looked over at her. He couldn't believe it, a parent had did that to their own child.

"I guess you figured it out." Taylor deadpanned as she looked at Troy. "So now can we get to studying."

"Do you actually think I'll be able to study knowing that your mother did this to you." Taylor looked at Troy and then down at her wrist which was still throbbing from the way he had grabbed it earlier.

"She didn't do it. Her boyfriend did because I was disrespecting her last night." Taylor admitted as she looked at Troy.

"So he figures that it's okay to touch a girl in a rough manner like that." he snapped out angrily as he looked at her wrist. He could feel his blood boiling in his veins as he took in Taylor's appearance. She looked so down. "You've got to tell someone."

"And go where. I don't know what my mother is trying to do but I'm not about to let her win." Taylor stated firmly as she looked at Troy. "She's not going to scare me off from Charles, she just isn't going to do I won't let her."

"So you're willing to stay there and get hurt," he paused for a moment and then spoke up his voice soft. "Your father wouldn't have wanted that." Taylor felt her heart seize in her chest at the mention of her father and what he would have wanted for her.

"Please Troy let's just study alright."

"I already told you that I can't study. Not knowing all of this." he admitted truthfully as he looked down at her. "Come on." he said softly as he placed his hand on the small of her back and urged her towards the front door.

"Where are we going?" Troy however didn't answer, instead he grabbed his jacket and led her out of the house, closing it up behind him. He led her down the sidewalk and it wasn't until they were a little bit away from the house that Taylor realized where he was taking her. "Troy?" He walked her over to a picnic table over near the swings. He helped her sit down and then straddled the bench and faced her. "Troy why did you bring me to the park?"

"Because you looked like you needed some peace." he answered simply as he turned his head and watched as a little girl jumped on the swings and started pumping her legs so she could go higher. He returned his gaze back to Taylor and reached out for her uninjured hand. "You told me this place brought you some peace and gave you good memories. Things I think you need at the moment." he whispered as he looked at her.

"Thank you then." Troy only nodded his head as he looked at Taylor for a moment and then sighed.

"I don't think you should stay there." Taylor raised an eyebrow at his words and shook her head as if he had was speaking absolutely nonsense. "I don't know what else to tell you."

"Where would I go?" she asked bluntly. "That has always been my home, Troy. There's good memories there as well. My mother and Charles will leave me alone if I just go by their rules." Troy narrowed his eyes at her and shook his head.

"For someone that's suppose to be so smart, you're certainly acting dumb right now." he replied sharply. Taylor jerked her head up and glared at him.

"Excuse me."

"You heard me, why would you want to stay in a house where you mother allows a stranger to hurt you. I don't know what or who you're protecting but I seriously don't think that your father would have wanted you to suffer this way, would he?"

"No he wouldn't." Taylor answered softly as she looked over at Troy who sat on the bench just looking at her.

"Then don't do it. You can leave."

"And go where, I'm not eighteen I'm a minor Troy." Taylor pointed out with a sigh. "I'm trapped in that house for another four years." Troy thought over her words for a moment before slowly shaking his head.

"No you aren't trapped there, there is something you could do."


	7. Chapter 7

I don't own anything.

**A/N: Alright it's another week and that means it's time for another update but first off I want to thank my reviewers from last week; Aipom4, NaeNae1495, sweetchocolate26, chaylorXtraylorlover, traylorlove and BabyGlover. I hope everyone enjoys the chapter and please remember to Review.**

**Baby S**

**Chapter Seven**

"You can not be serious?" Taylor mumbled as she looked at Troy who remained seated on the picnic bench facing her. "Leave my home." Troy narrowed his eyes at her words and rubbed the bottom of his chin furiously while resisting the urge to grab hold of her and shake her silly for thinking it was okay to place herself in a situation like this. After a moment, he stopped and gave her a pointed look.

"I'm very serious, just like that hairline fracture on your wrist is." he pointed out with a shake of his head as he stared at her. "I don't know who or what you're protecting but I'm serious here you need to leave the that house and those people behind. You're my friend, Taylor. I didn't ask my boys to be your bodyguards at school only to have you go home at night and get beat up by some sick fuck who enjoys messing with little girls. None of it is right and you shouldn't be forcing yourself to go through this. you should be somewhere safe." he stated firmly as he gave her a look that urged her to act like the smart girl he knew she was capable of being.

"Troy-." she started with a sigh, but Troy quickly stopped her with a shake of his head.

"Look, Bonnie you don't have stay with me. Hell choose some of your other friends if you need to, just make sure you're safe." he stated softly, he gently reached out and touched a hand to her bandaged wrist. "This shouldn't be happening. You shouldn't be dealing with something like this alright." Taylor looked at him for a moment before slowly nodding her head. She understood where he was coming from and she agreed. She didn't need to be dealing with her mother's boyfriend attacking her just because she looked at her mom funny. It seemed like the guy had been searching for a reason and found one last night and her mother didn't care. She just sat there and let him abuse her. She looked back up at Troy and found his eyes glued on hers.

"Well you let me think about this by myself?" she asked as she met his gaze, Troy stared at her for a brief moment before reluctantly nodding his head. She knew he didn't want to agree but knew that her asking for time to think was better than what he had received earlier when he told her his plan of moving out.

"Sure I'll let you think about it, not really sure what there is to think about." he murmured softly as he looked at her.

"There's plenty I'll be changing my life around-."

"From the look of things you're be changing it for the better." he muttered lowly as he sighed again and shook his head. "But fine, if time is what you need to see that staying in that house with them isn't going to work then fine you take that time." he pushed himself off the bench and stood looking down at her. Taylor frowned as she saw the open disappointment in his eyes as he gazed down at her. "But let me tell you something Taylor if anything else happens I will come to your house myself and have a little conversation with this Charles guy about how to treat a woman."

"I don't want you fighting him." Taylor quickly replied, thinking back to the look of pure satisfaction in the man's eyes last night as he attacked her. She didn't want Troy to get hurt because he tried to stand up for her. That would hurt her worst than anything Charles tried to do to her. Troy looked at her as finished her plea and shook his head.

"Then you better home the bastard doesn't give me reason." he muttered as he looked at her. "All I need is one scratch, one little insignificant scratch and I'll assume he hurt you again and I'll take matters into my own hands."

"You can't go around fighting other people's battles."

"I won't be fighting other peoples battles, just yours." Troy stated firmly as he looked at her, before placing his hands on his hips and sighing. He was still trying to calm himself down, something that had become rather difficult especially when he found about Taylor's injury. Taylor wrung her hands together and looked at him before sighing softly.

"I guess we should get back and get to work now that we've had our talk." she suggested, Troy merely shook his head and looked over at her.

"Naw, homework and stuff can wait till tomorrow. I brought you out here so you can have some peace and I intend to do that for you." he stated calmly as he looked at her. "So what do you want to do?"

"Do? What do you mean?" she asked looking at him as if he had grown another head, Troy raised an eyebrow at her words and pointed towards the playground.

"What do you want to do? I can push you on the swings or chase you around or we can just sit here and just enjoy one another's company. Either way, you'll be getting your decent share of peace at least for the remaining amount of time we have before you have to leave." Taylor stared at him, she couldn't believe what he was telling her.

"Are you serious?"

"Very much so," he stated with a grin. Walking over to her, he latched onto her uninjured arm and pulled her towards the swings. "Come on, you look like a swing girl." Taylor just shook her head and allowed him to pull her across the playground. "I haven't pushed a girl on a swing since elementary school but I think I handle it." Taylor just blushed as he led her to the swings and sat her down beside a little girl who was pushing herself on the swings. The little girl looked over at them and wrinkled her nose up.

"Eww! You're gonna let a boy push you on the swings," she paused and leaned towards Taylor and whispered quite loudly. "Are you afraid for cooties?" Taylor released an unladylike snort at the little girl words while Troy just pulled Taylor's swing back and started pushing. He looked at the little girl who who had started back swinging and shook his head. Catching Taylor's swing he pulled it back against his chest and held it there and whispered to Taylor.

"In a few years she won't even think about cooties when she looks at boys." he said on a chuckle as he shook his head while Taylor just shook her head and laughed. Troy released the swing and began pushing again, glad that the frown that had been on Taylor's face when she had walked into his home that afternoon was officially gone. It made him feel good, that he had been able to put her lovely smile back on her face. As far as he was concerned that was the only emotion that needed to be on her face.

Taylor returned home that night at a decent hour, as soon as she entered the house she looked around and noticed that her mother wasn't there and that probably meant neither was Charles. She glanced over her shoulder at Wilson who had insisted on bringing her inside himself no doubt wanting to protect her if they had been there. "It's okay, Wilson. They aren't here. Normally they'd be here waiting on me or something." she replied as she turned back around and gave Wilson a small smile. "So you can go home now."

"Alright but if there is any problem. Anyone at all call me immediately." he said before walking over to her and giving her a quick kiss on the forehead and a hug. Taylor hugged him back while thinking that his words sounded awfully similar to the words Troy spoke before she left that afternoon. Closing the door, she turned around and jumped when she saw Charles now standing in the living room looking at her.

"Sorry didn't mean to scare you." he replied smoothly as he walked towards her. Taylor reached down and picked up her laptop bag and started moving towards the stairs but Charles quickly overtook her and grabbed on to her shoulder easily stopping her in her tracks. Taylor didn't try to move because she was sure he had enough strength to knock her down just by applying pressure to her shoulder. "You know," he whispered as he leaned in towards her ear. "I couldn't help but over hear your conversation with Wilson," he paused and yanked her around so that she was looking up at him. "What's he so worried about?"

"Um!"

"I hope you aren't telling him about things that go on in this house?" he whispered but Taylor could see the anger in his eyes. She moved back as far as he would let her and then stopped and looked up at the man.

"Where's my mother?"

"Why do you care? She doesn't care about what happens to you or about what I'll do to you. She just wants to be with me for my money perhaps but I really don't care about that. As long as I get what I want in return." he whispered again as he looked down at her. "So let's get back to the matter at hand shall we, did you tell that old bastard about what really happened to you."

"No, I just told him I fell down and landed on my wrist awkwardly." she muttered as she looked at him. At her words, Charles released her and stepped back from her and sent her a smile that literally chilled her soul.

"That's a good girl," he turned and started walking away from her. "I wouldn't want to have to provide you with anymore discipline that you probably wouldn't be able to handle." with that said he sent her a wink and just walked away. Taylor stood there looking after him trembling from the encounter. She felt that the conversation might have revealed something to her that she hadn't really thought of before. Something that made her mother's relationship with Charles seem even more sinister and sick. Now she knew for certain that her mother was only with Charles to get back at her and her late father. Taylor didn't spend anymore time downstairs, instead she hurried upstairs to her room and locked the door. As she walked over to her bed, her cell phone rang causing her to jump up in surprise. Reaching down she quickly pulled it out.

"Hello?"

"Taylor is everything okay?" Troy asked over the line in a concern filled voice, Taylor glanced back at the door to her bedroom and sighed.

"I'm as okay as I'll be right now."

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Did he touch you?" Troy asked quickly and Taylor was sure she could see him pacing the floor of whatever room he was currently in at the moment. Lowering her head to her free hand, Taylor massaged her temples and spoke up.

"No, he didn't hurt me."

"You aren't answering my question." Troy snapped back heatedly. Taylor frowned for a moment and wondered what Charles would do if incited Troy to anger and got him racing over here to play hero. He'd probably talk her mother into taking her out of school or something. He was rich probably just like her father had been. Who knew how far he was willing to take things.

"Troy I'm fine. He just said some things but he didn't hurt me." Troy released a sigh over the line as Taylor went to sit down on her bed. "There's nothing wrong, nothing to be concerned about." she mumbled over the line. At least until I'm sure my suspicions are proven correct. She could hear Troy groan and heard a bed move.

"Alright but did you think about it?"

"I literally left your house an hour ago." she stated with a soft laugh. "I think you'll need to give me a little bit more time."

"You didn't think about during your ride home." Taylor sighed and just shook her head, of course she wasn't going to think about it inside a car. She needed to pay attention to the road in front of her. Talking had distracted her father and gotten him killed. She didn't talk in the car unless forced to do so by Wilson.

"No I had other things on my mind." There was a pause on the other end of the line before Troy spoke up his voice low.

"I'm sorry I should have-."

"It's okay, Troy really." Taylor replied as she thought about the look that was probably on his face. "Look I have to go to sleep alright, I'll see you tomorrow okay."

"Alright I'll see you tomorrow." he murmured softly. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Taylor whispered back before hanging up the phone. Once she did she walked back to the door and made sure it was locked before going back to her bed. As she laid there she thought about what Charles had said again and sighed. Moving out was probably for the best, it would help her avoid whatever it was that he wanted to do to her, but she needed to make sure he couldn't pull her back into the house once she left because she was sure the punishment he would enact on her would be more than she could bare.

"How you feeling?" Sharpay asked the next morning when Taylor entered the school, it was obvious that she was still worried about her friend especially after seeing her injured the yesterday. Taylor sent her friend a smile and gave her a quick one arm hug.

"I'm doing fine, the pain pills the doctor gave me or working out really well." Taylor admitted with a smirk. Sharpay just sighed and shook her head while latching onto her free arm.

"So you told me that you and your boyfriend were having dinner with his mother," Sharpay paused and smiled at the expression on Taylor's face. "How did that go?" The look that Taylor sent her only made her laugh harder as she realized her friend was truly taken back by her words. Sharpay just grinned and rested her head on Taylor's shoulder. "I'm waiting."

"First off he's not my boyfriend?"

"Taylor, I taught we already settled this honey. He asked his friends to make sure that no one bullied you here and then he asked you to dinner with is mother. Meeting the parents has always been a very big step in relationships."

"Oh my god, you're absolutely insane." Taylor muttered as she pinched the bridge of her nose with her free hand, carefully moving her wrist so she wouldn't cause herself any unnecessary pain. She knew now, that she probably shouldn't tell Sharpay or Gabriella about the park incident. They'd just eat that whole incident up and never let her hear the end of it. "How many times do I have to tell you that he isn't my boyfriend."

"I don't know, Tay. Maybe until I believe it." Sharpay countered with a grin as she looked at her friend. "But I'll move on cause I can see that this is making you quite uncomfortable, so I guess you won't be doing much in music class for a few weeks." Taylor looked down at her bandaged wrist and slowly nodded her head.

"Yeah, you guessed right. The doctor told me to take it easy." she replied with a shrug of her shoulders. "And I plan on doing that but that doesn't mean I won't take the time out to write some music every now and again."

"That's good and you know I'll be looking forward to hearing your music. It's always so good." she replied with a sigh as she shook her head. Taylor merely smiled at the compliment before looking down the hallway and seeing Coach Woodson making his way down the hall. Ever since the man had been introduced to the school a few weeks again he had been patrolling the hallways making sure that nothing happened. It seemed that he didn't like the bullying that he had seen taking place in the hallways during his fight week there. He made sure his players didn't partake in the pastime and if he discovered that they did he would suspend them from the time.

"Ladies." Coach Woodson said as he moved pass them, but then stopped. He turned back around and looked at Taylor. "Ms. McKessie how are you feeling?"

"I'm doing fine."

"I hope one of my players didn't cause that." he said as he pointed at her wrist. Taylor looked down at the cast and then back up at him and shook her head.

"No," at his look she sent him a small smile and shook her head. "No, they didn't do it. I merely had an accident." Coach Woodson looked at her for a brief moment before nodding his head.

"Alright then," he murmured. "Did you tell Troy about the ceremony?" Taylor nodded her head rapidly for answering his question.

"Yes I did and he and his mother will be coming to the ceremony." Coach Woodson released a small smile.

"Good. I'm glad to hear that." he admitted, "I hope you to lovely ladies have a pleasant day." he said before turning on his heel and walking down the hall. Sharpay just released a low whistle and shook her head.

"He is so fine."

"And old." Sharpay sent her a look and shook her head. "What he is. Has a family and everything." Taylor stated on a giggle as she looked at the way Sharpay was glaring at her. "Sorry if I messed up your dream on something." she finally stated with a sigh.

"Oh just stop talking, unless you want to talk about your boyfriend." At the look Taylor produced, Sharpay smirked and cocked her head to the side. "That's what I thought."

Taylor spent the rest of the day simply going through the motions, her thoughts mainly on Charles and what she could do to help herself get out of the house. The way he talked about her and his relationship with her mother made it sound like her mother had made some type of deal with him. One that placed her strictly in his clutches. After school was over, Wilson picked her up and dropped her off over at Troy's place. Once she entered the house, Troy pounced on her about the decision that he told her he had to make. "Did you decide yet?" he asked as he took her bag from her hand and led her inside the house.

"Geez, no hello."

"You know I wish you well, Taylor," Troy replied softly as he looked at her. "But this is serious here so what did you decide to do." Taylor glanced at him for a moment remembering the look on Charles' face last night.

"I thought about it and I don't really think I should be-."

"You tell me, you're staying there and I'm going to be mad Taylor." Troy replied with a shake of his head as he looked at her. He glanced over at her and frowned and placed his hands on his hips before shaking his head in disbelief.

"What happened, Taylor?"

"I," she paused and looked down for a moment. "I just need more time okay, Troy." he stared at her for a moment before blowing out a puff of air.

"Fine. . .how about till the end of the week or something, but you seriously shouldn't be dragging your feet about this, Taylor. He already hurt your wrist who knows what will happen if he does something else."

"I know. . .but I just need that time alright Troy."

"Fine, I'll give you that time." he mumbled as he hoisted her bag up and headed towards the dining room. Taylor sighed and followed behind him, wondering if she should tell Troy about the conversation with Charles and how that was keeping her motionless. She paused outside the dining room and looked at him as he sat her bag down and began to pull out her things. As she watched him, she decided that she owed him an explanation, one that explained why she was intent on staying at the house at least for the time being.

"He scares me." she blurted out, Troy paused in his movements and looked up at her. Taylor bit down on her bottom lip and stared at him for a moment before sighing. "He scared the life out of my and I don't know what he'll do if I try to leave." Standing up, Troy studied her for a moment before walking over to her and placing his hands on her shoulders. He rubbed his thumbs over her skin and pulled her to him and held her tightly.

"You don't have to be afraid." he whispered as he lowered his hands so he could rub her back, "It's Charles right that's who you're talking about right."

"Yes, he cornered me last night and said some things. That's why I'm going to take some more time. I don't want to rush into anything cause when I leave I want it to be for real." she whispered as she thought about what Charles could do to her to make that not so. Troy pulled away from her and sighed for a moment.

"So you're really considering leaving."

"I am, but I want to do it right. Cause I don't want to be returned back to that home once I leave, Charles would make sure I regretted it and I don't want to give that bastard the chance." Troy just nodded his head again and pulled her back in his arms. He rubbed his hands up and down her back hoping that he was providing her some type of comfort.

"As long as your considering leaving, is there anything I can do to help you?" he asked as he reached behind him and pulled out a chair. Turning around, he gently forced Taylor to sit down before kneeling down in front of her. "I mean anything."

"I can't really think of anything at the moment, what I really want is for you to be supportive." Troy ducked his head and gave her a slight nod.

"I can do that." he replied with a small grin. Taylor sighed then and looked towards the table at her books.

"Thanks for listening, Troy." she paused for a moment before sighing. "Now how about we get focused on your work, I'm not going to let your progress suffer because of my situation." Troy glared at his books on the table and looked back at her.

"Your safety is more important than my grades, Taylor." he replied with a shake of his head as he looked at her. "You have to know that."

"I do Troy, but sitting around here thinking about that guy isn't going to me any good. It'll just put me in a giant panic attack. I have to focus on something else, anything else alright." she whispered as she looked back up at him. Her eyes pleading for understanding, Troy massaged the back of his neck for a brief moment before reluctantly nodding his head.

"Fine tell me more about World War II." he muttered as he sat down across from her in his normal seat, Taylor looked at him from across the table and shook her head.

"I'm going to do something about this Troy, don't worry okay. I just have to do a few things on my own before I make a move." she replied as she reached across the table and grabbed hold of Troy's hand. He looked down at her small brown hand and turned his hand over so that he was now holding her hand in his.

"Where will you stay once you leave?"

"I'm not sure, I haven't planned that far ahead yet Troy." he rubbed his thumb along the back of her hand while he looked at her.

"I want you to know that you have a place here. We have a free bedroom and I'm sure my mother wouldn't mind especially if she knew your situation and-."

"You haven't told her have you." Troy merely shook his head at that and sighed.

"No I haven't told her about what's going on with you. You wanted me to keep quiet, and I will as long as you do something to keep yourself safe. The moment I think you're just staying there letting that bastard abuse you. I'll be telling the first police officer I see when I walk into the precinct."

"Troy."

"No Taylor," he replied holding up his hand to stop her words. "You know I didn't want to agree to keeping quiet but I did so because you promised me that you would take care of yourself and I'm trusting you with that. The moment I think you're neglecting yourself is the moment I step in with the police at my back."

"Okay fine." Taylor whispered as she released yet another sigh. "Just give me time that's all I'm asking you, and if things don't work out quick enough we'll do it your way." Troy placed his hands on his hips for a moment before slowly nodding his head.

"Fine, I guess I'm just gonna have to settle for that then." he whispered softly as he looked at her. "Just make sure that whatever you do-just be safe alright." he mumbled as he sat back in his chair and flipped open his book. "Alright let's get started." he suggested reluctantly. Taylor watched him for a moment before settled back and opening up her book as well so they could start studying until it was time for her to go. Troy gave her another quick speech about being safe and calling him if anything happened and then reluctantly let her go home with Wilson.

"Troy seems rather upset this evening just like last night." Wilson stated as he pulled away from the Bolton House, Taylor clutched her hands around the seatbelt on her waist and looked ahead at Wilson who hadn't taken his eyes off the road.

"He's just upset."

"About what?" Wilson asked. "Is it about your wrist, did you tell him what really happened to you." Taylor's eyes widened in surprise as she lifted her head to see Wilson's eyes directly on her. "There's no need to lie, Taylor. I can already see that I'm right."

"Wilson I am-."

"Don't apologize to me, Taylor. I know why you did it or at least I suspect why you did it." he said with a shake of his head, Taylor remained silent as he pulled the car over to the side of the room and put it in park. Bowing his head, he rested it against the steering wheel and released a broken sigh. "You should have told me immediately when Whitney began threatening you."

"I wanted too, but I couldn't. She threatened your job and you need this and-."

"Taylor, I'm a grown man. I don't need you protecting me. I should have been protecting you. I've been there for you since the day, you were born. A job is a job but I do see you as a granddaughter. and to think that you were willing to silently suffer because of me."

"Wilson please I-I just didn't know what to do."

"You could have told me," he replied lifting his head to look back at her. "Now tell me who injured your arm was it your mother?" he asked his voice taking on a harsher quality as he thought about the woman who should have never been given the ability to reproduce. Taylor gently touched her cast and looked back up at Wilson who was impatiently waiting on her answer.

"No, it was Charles." she whispered brokenly as she looked at the man who seemed to be struggling with that lone answer, resting his head back on the seat he glared up at the ceiling on the car.

"I'm taking you to the cops right now and we're going to get this all sorted out, meaning that bastard will be in a cell before the night is up." he growled as he turned on the car and pulled off. Taylor shook her head rapidly as Wilson sped down the street.

"No you can't."

"Why the hell not? Taylor I don't know what type of man you think I am but I'm not into letting a man get away with child abuse." he snarled out angrily.

"I'm going to do something about it, Wilson." she whispered softly.

"What are you going to do about it?" he asked still driving to the police station. He wasn't some child and she certainly wasn't going to talk him into waiting like she did that Bolton kid. Now he knew why the boy had been so upset the last few days. Oh he was certainly going to have a talk with the boy the next time he saw him.

"I was going to try and find Mr. Mitchell's contact information. He was daddy's friend and he's a lawyer maybe he could help me."

"What makes you think you'll need a lawyer. The way I see it, Charles is the one that will need a lawyer."

"And he probably will be able to afford one, Wilson. He's rich and I think. . .I think my mother doesn't care what he does to me." Wilson's eyes widened in shock at Taylor's words and he pulled the car to a stop again.

"What did you just say?"

"I don't think she cares about what this man does to me. He hinted at it last night told me. He basically said that my mother was with him for his money and that he didn't care about that at all as long as he got what he wanted in return."

"Why that sick son of a-."

"Can you take me to Mr. Mitchell's office I want to talk to him and see what he says. If I get away from them, I don't want Charles pulling me back into the house cause who knows what he'll do to me then." she muttered as she held her stomach feeling quick sick at the thought. Wilson closed his eyes for a moment, he knew he wasn't to far off from the police station but he also knew how certain things worked. Especially when it came to rich people and their ability to maneuvered themselves out of the law's reach. He hated to admit it but Taylor's was right. If she went to the police with this now, Charles would be arrested and eventually released and he would be livid. The man would probably cut Taylor off from everything and trap her in the house. He'd probably be fired and Taylor wouldn't have anyone in her corner. She'd just be trapped in that massive house with a psychopath and a bitch of a mother. "Wilson, if I'm going to do this. I have to do this right okay." she whispered pleading, he could hear the hope in her voice. The hope that he would understand were she was coming from.

"Fine, but why haven't you called Mr. Mitchell yet?" he asked as he turned on the car and pulled off heading downtown. He knew Mr. Mitchell was probably still in his office and thankfully he hadn't forgotten the way. There had been many days and nights that he had driven Taylor's father to the office.

"I-my mother got rid of his contact information after the reading of the will. She thought he had did something to it. You know messed up what she was suppose to get and at first she didn't believe that my father actually did basically write her out of the will. So she fired him as our family lawyer and then got rid of his contact information. I haven't seen or heard from him-I was going to search her office last night but after that scary conversation with Charles I just went to my room. If he had caught me in my father's office there's no telling what he would do to me."

"Well, we'll be there a matter of minutes. I hope Mr. Mitchell helps you or we'll just have to take our chances with the police."


	8. Chapter 8

I don't own anything.

**A/N: Alright it's another week and that that means it's time for another update. First off I want to thank the reviewers from last time;_ Aipom4, chaylorXtraylorlover,traylorlove, javasmoker, sweetchocolate26,HeartsWereNeverMeantToRace, chaylorfan, and Tina_. I hope everyone likes the new update and please remember to Review.**

**Baby S**

Chapter Eight

Jordan Mitchell stood outside his downtown office patiently waiting on the arrival of Taylor McKessie, his mind kept playing back the conversation he had with the young woman nearly thirty minutes ago. She had called to tell him that she was basically afraid of her living arrangement at the moment. He knew it all boiled down to Whitney, he didn't like the woman when Taylor's father had introduced her to him and his wife and now his friend's poor judgment when it came to women was forcing his only child out of her home. Jordan pushed himself off the wall as a large black limo pulled into the parking lot. Walking out to meet them, he sent Taylor a small smile as she climbed out of the back of the limo. "Taylor." he called out and smiled as she rushed into his arms. He hadn't seen his godchild in a good while. Whitney had made it very clear that he wasn't welcome in their home and he would hate to see what she would have did if he had tried to force the issue.

"Mr. Mitchell thank so much for being able to see me."

"It's nothing really Taylor," he looked over her shoulder and saw Wilson climbing out the car. The older man walked over to them and placed a hand on Taylor's shoulder effectively pulling her back away from him. Jordan smiled and lifted his hand to the other man. "Nice to see you again Wilson though I wish it was under better circumstances."

"As do I, Jordan." Wilson replied back with a door sigh. Jordan looked down at Taylor and narrowed his eyes when he saw the cast that bandaged up her wrist. Frowning he pointed at it and looked at Taylor.

"Did your mother's boyfriend do this?" he asked bluntly as he looked at the wrist, he glanced over at Wilson who just nodded his head. Clenching his jaw, Jordan walked over to his office's front door and pulled it open. "Come on in, we have a lot to discuss." Taylor just nodded her head and slipped inside with Wilson at her back. Once they were inside his office, Jordan spoke. "Taylor I don't really know what you want me to tell you."

"I want to leave, don't make the mistake of thinking that I want to stay in that house getting abused. I called you because basically when Charles had this little talk with me about how my mother didn't care and how she was using him for his money and such, well I got the impression that he was really telling that because my mother was using his money that he could do what he wanted with me and I have a feeling that means anything." Wilson bristled at her words and turned towards her before looking at Jordan who was leaning against his desk with a look of cold fury flashing across his face.

"Alright then at least we have something to work with now." he muttered. "Look Taylor, that is quite a charge there and I believe you but if you're going to get away from him and your mother well then you're gonna have to get proof."

"Let her take a lie-detector test." Wilson replied, Jordan looked over at him and merely shook his head before focusing back on Taylor who was looking back up at him silently. Jordan crossed his arms over his chest and sighed.

"As much as I would love for it to be that simple, Charles is rich enough to hire a lawyer that will rip that test apart on the stand, besides if the man is bold enough to even hint at what he really wants from Taylor then we need to make sure that this move is actually solid. No loopholes, I don't want my goddaughter to have to go back to that house after telling on this man. His punishment may be something that will be unbearable to Taylor and to us."

"So what are you suggesting?" Taylor asked bravely though she really didn't like what Jordan was talking about. She knew that it could possibly come down to this and that scared her. Wilson reached over and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"What do you need for her to do?"

"She needs to get him on tape, once we have his words. I can present the tape as evidences to the court system. It will give us good solid ground to stand on if this things goes to court." Wilson looked at the man for a second before sighing.

"And what will you be doing while Taylor plays undercover agent?"

"I'll be researching Charles, I'm sure he has skeletons in his closet and some that could eventually help us with this case." Taylor tapped her foot on the floor as she looked over at Jordan and slowly nodded her head.

"Alright I'll do it." Jordan slowly nodded his head and sent her a smile he hoped encouraged her. He didn't want her to think he didn't believe in her when he in fact did. Wilson turned to look at her for a brief moment before shaking his head.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked bluntly.

"Yeah I'm sure. . .if I need to get him saying something to me. I can, he does practically everything he catches me alone and-."

"No-." Wilson replied with a shake of his head as he looked at her. "That isn't going to work, you being alone with that man are you out of your mind." he looked over at Jordan for help and found the man nodding in agreement with him.

"I don't think that's safe Taylor. You're young and there's no way that you can just-" Taylor held up a hand and shook her head for a minute as she looked at the both of them. If they didn't want her to do this alone, then that was okay. She knew of someone who could help get the dirt on Charles.

"I can handle it and I also have a friend that can help me get the information while keeping me safe. Don't worry alright I'll get the information and then that bastard will be out of my life for good." she stated with a brief smile as she thought about being free of not only her mother but of the man that she had brought into her life. Jordan gave her a look for a moment before slowly nodding his head and pushing himself off his desk.

"Alright then, all I can say to you is be safe and when you get that information bring it to me and I'll get you out of there that night." Jordan stated firmly, Taylor just nodded her head and stood up from the chair with Wilson on her heels. As they walked outside, Wilson cleared his throat and placed his hands behind his back as he looked down at Taylor.

"You know I don't approve of this right." Taylor slowly nodded her head and looked up at him for a brief moment before releasing a sigh.

"I know but I trust Mr. Mitchell," she declared softly as she looked up at Wilson. "If he thinks this is the way to truly get rid of them without them coming back at me for round two then I'm all for it." Wilson just looked at her for a brief moment before shaking his head.

"Alright then, just let me know when you decide to go ahead with this plan and I'll be there for you alright." Taylor looked at him briefly as he opened the back door of the limo. Climbing inside, Taylor looked up at Wilson and slowly nodded her head.

"Don't worry I'll tell you what's going on and when I decide to go ahead with the plan."

"Good." Wilson replied as he closed the door, as he walked around to the driver's side all he could think about was his promise to Taylor's father. He told the man that if anything ever happened to him that he would protect Taylor and that's exactly what he planned to do.

Troy Bolton was lounging around in his room, just staring up at the ceiling. Lately he had been thinking about why he seemed so focused on Taylor. He knew he cared about her and everything like that. Every since the tragedy of his father's death, he had been absolutely miserable and he hadn't truly smiled until she entered his life. Sometimes he felt like he was doing his father a disservice, like how could he be happy when his mother was without her husband. Tossing an arm over his eyes, he took a deep shuddering breath and sighed just as his phone went off. Reaching out blindly, he picked up his phone off the nightstand and pulled it to his ears. "Hello?" he asked gruffly through the speaker.

"Troy?" he sat up then as he heard Taylor's voice floating through the speaker of his phone.

"Is everything alright?" he asked quickly hoping that, that bastard Charles hadn't done anything else to her. "Taylor is everything alright." he asked again not liking the silence he heard over the line.

"Everything's fine, Troy." she breathed out softly. "I'm just calling you because I wanted to know if you'd be open to having a few tutoring sessions here at the house." Narrowing his eyes at her question, Troy pushed himself over to the side of the bed so that his feet were touching the floor. Lifting his free hand to his hair, he quickly rubbed his hand through.

"Why? Are they trying to keep you in the house?"

"No, I just-I was just wondering if that would be okay." Troy sucked his teeth and looked down at the floor.

"I'm not a fool Taylor. . . tell me what's going on right now." he grunted out angrily as he tapped his foot on the floor, trying his best not to get up and start pacing at any moment.

"Fine, I went and talked to my father's attorney and well he told me that I needed some type of evidence on Charles in order for my leaving the house to stick-" Troy frowned at that for a moment before shaking his head.

"Hold up, are you serious. He wants you to do all that."

"No, not really but if I have to do this in order to get evidence then I will. I want you there just in case something happens at the tutoring session and-."

"Would he actually be bold enough to do something with me there."

"I think so," Taylor admitted with a sigh. "He might want to try and show me that even with you there, he's the man and stuff like that. I just need you there in case something happens." Troy rubbed a hand over his face and slowly nodded his head. Of course, he'd help her. She helped pull him from the bitterness that had slowly enveloped his life so now it was his turn to return the favor.

"You really don't have to ask, of course I'll be there to help you." he whispered over the line softly. "So when am I'm suppose to come over to your house?"

"Tomorrow. We start doing this tomorrow and we'll see where that takes us." she stated softly. "Look I need to go to sleep so I'll see you tomorrow, Wilson and I will pick you up after school let's out." Troy slowly nodded his head.

"That sounds fine, I'll see you then." Hanging up the phone, Troy sat it back down on his nightstand and leaned back on his bed. He hoped Charles screwed up soon enough cause he couldn't wait to see Taylor get out of there.

The next day, Troy found himself sitting down in the living anxiously awaiting Taylor's arrival. He glanced up as his mother entered the living room and sat down next to him on the sofa. "Where are you headed off today?" she asked as she looked down pointedly at his bag and then over at him. Troy glanced over at his mother and sighed.

"I'm headed to Taylor's house to study. There's been a change of plans and well she needs to move our tutoring sessions to her house for a little while." Lillian looked at her son for a brief moment before slowly nodding her head.

"Is everything okay?" she asked with concern. The truth was Lillian had gotten use to Taylor's visits and after the dinner that she shared with Troy and Taylor, she had started coming downstairs during the tutoring sessions and spending a little time with them. She joked with Taylor on occasion and she had to admit that their little dinner session with her and lifted her spirits a bit. The pain of missing Jack was still there but she didn't feel like it was swallowing her up like before.

"Yeah mom, everything's fine." he said just as the doorbell rang, hoping up off the sofa Troy quickly picked up his bag and walked over to his mother. Bending down, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you when I get home."

"Can you make sure it's at a decent hour?" she asked as she stood up as well, Troy paused at her question and sent his mother a small smirk.

"How about if it isn't I stay behind and spend the night with Taylor." At his words, his mother just tilted her head back and laughed aloud at his words. Troy smiled as well, as he looked at his mother before sighing and shaking his head. "Fine I'll make sure I'm back by a decent hour." With said he walked over to the front door and pulled it opened and stopped as he saw Wilson standing on the other side.

"Hello Troy," he paused and glanced over Troy's shoulder. "Mrs. Bolton how are you this evening?" he called out with a nod of his head. Lillian pushed herself off the sofa and walked over to the door and smiled up at the man.

"Oh I'm fine," she replied with a small smile. "Thank you for asking, Troy was just telling that he and Taylor had decided to start studying at her house for a little while." Wilson looked over at Troy for a moment before nodding his head.

"Yes it's only for a little. Taylor's mother wants her at home for a few days and well this is the only way Troy can still study and keep up with his work." Wilson stated. "Don't worry I'll have him home at a decent hour."

"I already told her that." Troy replied with a small smirk as he quickly ducked his head to avoid a playful slap from his mother. Stepping out onto the porch, Troy looked back at his mother and sent her a small smile. "See you later Mom."

"Alright see you." Lillian said before stepping back inside and closing the door. Wilson waited till he heard the door click shut before turning to look down at Troy who was standing beside him.

"Come on you can put you things in the trunk and then you can ride in the back with Taylor," Wilson said as he marched down the walkway to the limo that was parked in front of the Bolton house. Opening the trunk, he watched Troy place his bag inside. Reaching out he laid a hand on Troy's shoulder.

"You've never ridden in a car with Taylor before," he paused and released a sigh. "Riding in cars for her now is quite an experience, she doesn't like it at all." Troy looked up at Wilson and frowned for a moment before looking towards the back window of the car.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I'm letting you know what to expect in the car."

"I would never make fun of her." Troy stated sharply as he looked at the man before him. Wilson merely raised an eyebrow and slowly nodded his head.

"I figured that already, however I had to make sure." Placing a hand on Troy's back, he pushed the boy forward and limo. "Come on let's go." He watched Troy climb into the back of the limo and then walked up to the door on the driver's side. He paused for a moment and thought that maybe this would be the first car ride since her father's death that Taylor wouldn't almost have a panic attack. He glanced one last time into the back of the limo, before opening his door and climbing inside and pulling off.

Troy settled back on the seat and looked over at Taylor who was clutching the handle of the door tightly while sending him a few quick glances. Finally after a few minutes of this, she spoke up her voice soft and quick as if she didn't want to spend to much time talking in the car as if she had to pay attention to something. "Why don't you have your seatbelt on?" she rushed out quickly before looking back out the window. Troy followed her gaze, and saw her seize up as the car rolled by a side street with a car slowly coming to a stop at the edge. Deciding that it would be best to put on his seatbelt to at least but her at ease, he reached over his shoulder for the belt and carefully pulled it over his body. Taylor turned towards him at the sound of the seatbelt being put into place. Troy smiled at her and wiggled the strap at her and sighed.

"My seatbelt is on now." he stated smoothly as he looked at her.

"Good, you really shouldn't be getting into cars without your seatbelt on." Taylor whispered to him on a sigh.

"I'm sorry for that," he paused and reached over for her hand, the one that was balled up in her lap. "Come here." he said softly as he latched onto the first and slowly pulled her hand open and gently threaded his fingers with hers. Taylor looked at him for a moment before closing her eyes as Wilson turned the car. Troy just sent her a gentle smile as he felt her squeeze down on his hands tightly tucking her head down in fear. "It's alright we're just turning." he whispered as he gave her a slight nudge. "We're fine." Taylor kept her head down only because now she was to embarrassed to look at Troy. As if he knew exactly what she was thinking, he leaned over to her and whispered. "No need to be embarrassed, we all have things that make us fearful-this car ride doesn't change my image of you. To me, you're still smart, beautiful and strong. This is just something you're struggling with at the moment, and just so you know I'm here for you." Taylor nodded her head in agreement as she allowed Troy to pull her into an one armed embrace. They rode like that for the rest of the way, with Troy holding her tightly as Wilson drove them back towards the McKessie Manor.

As Wilson pulled the limo to a stop, Troy sat back and slowly released his hold on Taylor while sending her a small encouraging smile. "We're here." he replied with a sigh as he unbuckled his seatbelt and looked over at her. Taylor looked up at him and graced him with a small smile as well.

"Thank you." she whispered as she looked Troy who merely nodded his head and smiled at her.

"Not a problem, come on let's go in here and deal with this," he hopped out of the limo and reached back inside for her hand. He smiled as she settled her little hand with his palm. Stepping back he carefully helped her out of the car and closed the behind her. "I hope this guys messes up tonight so we can get you out of here."

"Let's not do anything crazy-just play things cool." Troy gave her a look before nodding his head, Taylor was pretty sure he was anything but cool but she didn't want to call him on it. As long as he at least acted civil towards Charles things would be okay she didn't want to see them fight. Troy looked pretty strong but then again Charles was a huge guy and she didn't want to see anything happen to Troy if he tried to step to Charles.

"Hey what's that look for?" Troy asked as he tucked his finger beneath her chin and forced her to look up at him.

"Nothing, just be cool in there. All I need to do is tape him saying some things that's it-." Troy nodded his head and looked over at Wilson who at the moment was getting their bags from the trunk of the car. Placing his hand on Taylor's back, Troy gently pushed her forward and then walked over to Wilson to grab hold of the bags.

"I'll be outside waiting to take you home," he leant forward then and spoke quickly in Troy's ear. "If there's any problem at all you two get out of there and I'll handle Charles." Troy stepped back and nodded his head.

"Sure." he replied with a swift nod of his head as he took the bags from Wilson and quickly headed after Taylor. She paused outside the door and dug through her purse for her keys, Troy tapped his foot on the ground slowly as he waited for her to open the door. Finally she found her keys and opened the door. Troy stepped into the house and found it hard to not to look around with awe, his eyes drifted over to Taylor who was silently smiling at him.

"I know right, this place is huge. My father built the house because he thought he would have a lot of kids but my mother wasn't really up for that." she whispered just as they heard footsteps making their way towards them. Troy watched as an older African American couple stepped into the small foray.

"Taylor who is this?"

"This is Troy Bolton the person I've been tutoring and-." Whitney scoffed at her daughter's words and looked Troy up and down before raising an eyebrow.

"I see what I said that night over dinner was correct." Troy noticed Taylor narrowing her eyes at her mother's words and mentally made a note to ask Taylor about that conversation later on when they were alone.

"If what you said over that dinner was something about Taylor being the smartest person down at East High and how I should be thankful for her help then you're correct." Troy stated smoothly as he looked over at Taylor and winked. She sent him a little shy smile and Troy looked up as he heard a little grunt from Charles who stood silently to the side. Troy watched as the man's cold brown eyes shifted back and forth between him and Taylor. He didn't like what he saw in the older man's eyes but his attention was immediately drawn to Taylor as she gave him a little nudge.

"That's sweet Troy," she murmured as she sent him a thankful smile before she turned her attention back to her mother who stood silently next to Charles frowning as well. "Mom, we're here to study. You've been complaining about me getting home late so Troy suggested maybe he should trade places with me and I thought it was a great idea. Besides his mother doesn't really think it's a bad idea."

"Yeah she just wants me to get caught up." Troy stated as he sent a look at Charles before focusing on Taylor's mom. Whitney merely nodded her and released so sigh and then pointed over her shoulder.

"You two can study in the downstairs study and-."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Charles said finally speaking up, he sent Troy a look before focusing his full attention on Whitney who was now giving him her full attention. Charles crossed his arms over his chest and sent a look over at Taylor before speaking. "I just don't think that-."

"We promise not to go through your personal stuff, especially any papers lying around unless their about World War II." Troy stated with a grin that didn't reach his eyes. Charles stared Troy down for a moment before shaking his head.

"Boy I don't need your jokes."

"Charles!" Whitney exclaimed in shock as she looked over at him.

"Boy?" Troy spat out angrily as he looked over at Charles who just glared at him for a moment before shaking his head.

"Just giving you a little history lesson, that's what your people used to say to my people." Charles snapped out as he quickly dismissed Troy and looked over at Whitney. "I don't think they should be in some inclosed space not alone at least."

"Then we can go to the dinning room." Taylor said as she reached out and placed a hand on Troy's arm. She could literally feel Troy's rage coming off of him. She almost jumped out of her skin when Charles sent her a harsh look before shaking his head.

"How about in the living room or?"

"We don't need any distractions," Troy replied coolly, dismissing Charles, Troy looked over at Whitney. "I think the dinning room will be just fine, you can sit in there if you want." he suggested, Whitney eyed their bags and the shook her head.

"No you two go right on ahead." Troy shifted his gaze towards Charles who looked like he wanted to say something else but didn't. Instead he sent Troy one last glare and then followed out behind Whitney. Releasing a sigh, Troy sagged a bit and looked at Taylor.

"Well, I can see already that he's a bastard and the both of us haven't even had a proper conversation yet." Taylor looked up at him and slowly shook her head, she didn't like the way Troy had egged Charles on. The look in Charles' eyes seemed to promise that Troy would regret messing with him. Instead of saying something, Taylor turned and headed towards the dinning room with Troy on her heels. As they entered the room, that Whitney had told him to study in, Troy sat down the bags and reached out for her arm. Taylor paused and turned to look at him, moving closer to her Troy lowered his voice and spoke up quickly.

"Taylor what's wrong?" he asked softly, Taylor turned to face him fully and glanced over his shoulder to make sure that Charles or her mother had ventured back after them. After making sure the coast was clear she looked up at Troy and released a soft sigh.

"I didn't like that you were egging Charles on like that out there." Troy furrowed his brow together and slowly shook his head.

"I wasn't egging him on. I was just talking," he paused for a minute and reached back down to pick up their bags and walked the rest of the way to the table. "I don't like the way he looked at you." he admitted softly. "I don't know what it was," he paused and shook his head. "Or maybe I just don't want to see what it is that I saw in his eyes out there but he really puts me on edge especially when it comes to you."

"And he puts me on edge with the way he was looking at you." Taylor admitted as she looked at Troy. "Now let's just forget about it and study." Troy just nodded his head and began to get their books out. They studied for a little over an hour, until Troy sighed and pushed himself away from the table. Lifting her eyes up from her book, Taylor looked over at Troy. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." he replied with a shake of his head as he released a tired sigh, "Unless you wanna count the fact that my head is killing me at the moment." he replied with a small smile. Taylor just looked at him before pushing her chair back. Troy followed her movements with his eyes and sighed as he saw her pushing herself up from the table.

"Where you going?" Troy asked.

"I'm going to get you some Advil or something." Taylor replied as she looked back over at him. "I've never seen you like this before- what I mean is, you've never gotten a headache before." she said with a sigh.

"That's cause I've been over here grinding the hell out of my teeth." Troy admitted as he rolled his teeth, "However a Advil does sound pretty good right about now so let's go."

"You don't have too."

"Please, I have too-especially with the likes of him running around this house." Troy said with a shake of his head as he too stood up from the table and stretched his arms out above his head. Taylor looked over at him and shyly looked away when she noticed she could see his abs peeking out beneath his shirt. Troy lowered his arms and looked over at her before smiling.

"Sorry about that."

"Yeah right." she murmured as she turned on her heel and headed out of the dinning room with Troy jogging to keep up with her while laughing quietly to himself. As they entered the kitchen, Taylor immediately walked over to the cabinet and grabbed a glass for Troy to drink some water before searching around for some Advil, unfortunately she couldn't find any in the kitchen. Turning around, she looked over at Troy and released a sigh.

"I can't find any in here." Troy massaged his temple while shrugging his shoulders.

"That's fine."

"No, I'll go and get it." she replied with a sigh as she headed down the hall, the bathroom was only a few steps away and she was pretty sure that there had to be Advil in the downstairs bathroom, her mother spent far to much time bent over a toilet throwing up after a hard night of partying and drinking. "I'll just be a moment." she called as she headed down the hall, she took a quick turn and opened the bathroom door and stepped inside heading over to the medicine cabinet just as her hand settled

"So are you and that boy together?" Jerking around, she froze as she saw Charles standing in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest, he looked at her with cold dark eyes. Taylor turned and pressed herself against the sink while looking at Charles who seemed to get quite angry at her lack of words. "I asked you," he paused and lowered his voice as he realized he was yelling. "I asked you a question."

"If we're together why does that have anything to do with you?" she asked and flinched as Charles bristled at her comments. He glared at her and took another step into the room and looked her directly in her eyes.

"Because you're mine." he snapped out on a whispered. "Mine to do with as I please, if you don't believe me ask your mother." he finished his statement with a smile as he looked at her, "I don't want you messing around with that boy not now, not ever and-."

"Taylor!" Charles paused at Troy's voice and stepped back from her, he looked down the hall and saw the boy slowly walking down the hall. "Just remembered what I said." stepping out fully into the hallway he looked towards Troy and sent him a grim look.

"I hope you weren't planning a little secret with Taylor in the downstairs bathroom," he moved towards the boy with a frown. "That would be completely classless." Troy eyeballed him as Charles roughly pushed by him and disappeared down the hall. Troy turned back around and looked at Taylor who was peeking out of the restroom, her face holding a look of utter shock. Moving quickly he was by her side in the blink of an eye.

"What did he say to you?"

"I'll play it for you later." she whispered as she shoved the Advil bottle into his hand, "Come on let's go back to the dinning room before he comes back down here." Troy looked up at her in surprise for a moment before leaning closer towards her.

"Alright but did you really get him on tape?"

"Oh yeah, it's been running since I got up from the table." she whispered with a smile as she patted him on the chest. "Oh yeah, I got him good." she replied with a wide smirk as she looked at up him. Troy slowly nodded his head and then turned and led Taylor back towards the dinning room wondering the whole time what Charles said to Taylor. He certainly hoped it was good enough to get her out of the house. That was all he wanted besides an excuse to beat the living crap out of Charles for ever putting his hands on her.

A/N: I don't know if this is of interest to anyone but I will be posting a Mercedes (Glee) fanfic either today or next week so please go and check it out and tell me what you think.

Baby S


	9. Chapter 9

I don't own anything.

A/N: Another week, another update first off I want to thank my reviewers from last week; chaylorXtraylorlover, NaeNae1495, Phelycia, traylorlove, sweetchocolate26 and Tina. Thank you guys. . . I hope everyone enjoys this chapter this week and please Review.

Baby S

Chapter Nine

"Because you're mine . . .mine to do with as I please, if you don't believe me ask your mother. . .I don't want you messing around with that boy not now, not ever and-." Charles slammed his hand on the desk in front of him and shot up out of his seat.

"That's a goddamn lie, she made that up and-." The judge sent a glare his way that instantly quieted Charles' protests, while Charles' lawyers stood up to try and calm their client down. Jordan Mitchell frowned and pointed at the tape recorder right in front of him while sending Charles a look of pure disgust.

"That's your voice on that tape recorder, Charles? You can help yourself out here by telling us about your deal with Taylor's mother. Even though to all present it is pretty obvious what it is that you and Whitney decided to do." Charles clenched his jaw and glared at the other man before looking at his lawyers. Taking in their expressions, he frowned and looked at the judge who was seated behind his desk with his hands braced in front of his mouth.

"What are my options?" The judge sent him a look before shaking his head.

"Do you really think that's a good question to ask, Charles? They have you on tape telling an underage girl that she's yours. Your voice doesn't even appear to be the least paternal and then there is the fact that you assaulted her and injured her. If you want a shorten sentence you tell us about this deal with the mother or I'll send you to jail now and get the mother and I use that turn loosely to bring down even more charges against you." Charles narrowed his gaze at the judge before looking at his lawyers who were all nodding their heads silently telling him to cooperate.

"Fine I'll talk but I want it written down that I get a shortened sentenced." The judge raised an eyebrow at that and only shook his head at the man.

"You don't get to negotiate with me, Mr. Harold. What you've done is truly despicable along with that girl's mother. If you talk you get the hope of possibly having a shortened sentence, if you don't I'll gladly throw the book at you. That's what you get of this deal, so be thankful for that." Charles stared at the man for a moment before slowly nodding his head.

"Fine, I'll talk." The judge nodded his head and looked over towards Jordan Mitchell who was still frowning, the man wasn't happy with Charles getting off with an easier sentence. He wanted the judge to throw the book at the man's head. To put him underneath the jail where he belongs.

"Judge Tyson maybe we should discuss-."

"No, I've heard all I needed to hear, Mr. Mitchell. Now all that's left is for us to hear this man's confession," the judge then direction his attention towards Charles. "Tell the truth and maybe you can help yourself out." Charles looked over at Jordan before glancing back at the judge.

"Does he have to be here?"

"This involves his client and what the girl will do if her mother is truly implicated in this horrible incident," the judge said angrily as he looked at Charles. "So please go ahead and tell us the truth." Charles shared another look with his lawyers before slowly nodding his head.

"Fine, I met Whitney when she left a few months back at some type of black tie party. She was drunk and complaining about how her husband left her nothing and left her daughter everything, even hinted that the girl might not be the man's child and-."

"That's not true, he had a test done years ago when he discovered that his wife was a woman that liked to cheat on him. Taylor is his child." Charles looked over at him and rolled his eyes before looking back up at the judge.

"Can I tell my story or is he coming to cut in every time." The judge sent Jordan a look and then looked back at Charles and nodded his head. "Okay so we had a talk and well basically she told me that I could have a go at her child if I came there and took care of her. That's basically what happened."

"Does this behavior happen often?" Jordan asked with a frown of disgust. "Do you normally make deals to molest under age girls." Charles looked over at him and sent him a smile that Jordan could only describe as devilish.

"That has nothing to do with this case." Jordan's mouth dropped open in shock and disgust before he direction his gaze towards the judge who was looking at Charles the same way. Both men couldn't believe what they had heard.

"Are you kidding me? Everyone in this room now knows that you've done something like this before," Jordan snapped out angrily as he thought about all the other girls like this goddaughter who probably suffered underneath this man's cruel hands. Charles' main lawyer Frank Fields looked over at him and sighed.

"My client is right, that assumption that you're hinting has absolutely nothing to do with this case. Focus on your client, don't try to make this bigger than it already is." he replied coolly as he looked at Jordan before shaking his head.

"He just hinted at doing this again and-."

"Mr. Fields, is correct no matter how unfortunate that might be. You have no evidences to pursue that so just drop it and focus on Ms. McKessie case." Jordan slowly nodded his head and looked back at the judge. "Now that you know his story and it's obvious that her mother sold her to him what will your actions be towards Ms. Taylor McKessie."

"She wants to leave the house and basically she wants it to be shut down until she can officially take over the property which would be on her twenty-first birthday." Jordan said as he looked at the judge while avoiding Charles. He wasn't so sure he could control himself, especially with the way the way was smiling at him as if he had just won the lottery. The man was a sick individual and now he knew why towards the end Charles decided to cooperate. It was better to go to jail over this, then for him to do research into his background and find girls he had actually molested. If he had done that, Charles' sentence would be much higher.

"Where will Ms. McKessie stay?"

"Probably with that white boy." Charles grunted out angrily as he shook his head while looking down at the table. Jordan looked over at Charles and rolled his eyes heavenward. The man was basically insane, how in the hell was he still so focused on what Taylor was doing with someone, someone who happened to be her own age.

"Taylor will be staying with whoever she chooses to stay with, how that's any of your business I do not know." Jordan said angrily as he looked over at the man. "It would be best if you just focused on yourself and upcoming jail time." Charles just chuckled and rolled his eyes at the man before shaking his head. Jordan looked up at the judge as he pushed himself away from the table and stood up from the table.

"Now that we have discussed things, can I leave."

"Sure, my assistant will be in contact with the court date. Have a good day Mr. Mitchell?" Jordan nodded his head and quickly exited the judge's chambers. Walking outside the room, he was surprise to Whitney McKessie standing there. She rushed up to him, her lips pulled back in an angry snarl. Jordan raised an eyebrow at her approach but stayed his ground.

"You have no idea what you've done but I'm pretty sure Charles is going to bury you and those bullshit ass charges." Jordan straightened his suit jacket and looked at Whitney and slowly shook his head. He would never understand what it was that his late friend saw in her, but he could always see her for the snake she been.

"Charles gave you up." he said simply. "He gave you up so you'll be in court too and you will serve time," he paused to take in the look of horror that passed over Whitney's face at his words. He allowed himself to smirk before continuing. "That's he gave you up and told everyone in that room just what type of woman you really are," he paused and shook his head. "Finally it seems like your karma is coming back on you." With that said, Jordan easily side-stepped a shocked Whitney and left the courthouse. Getting into his car, he drove to the Bolton household where he knew Taylor currently was. Once he got there, he noticed the familiar limo which meant that Wilson was here as well. Getting out of the car, he quickly made his way up to the front which opened up before he could even ring the doorbell. He smiled when he saw Taylor in the doorway with a questioning look on her face.

"How did it go?" she asked softly as if she were to afraid of his answer, but knew for her own peace of mind that she simply had to ask the question. Charles reached out and pulled her into a tight hug and held her tightly.

"Everything is going to be fine. Charles and your mother are going to go to jail of that I'm sure." he said with a sigh as he pulled back but kept his hands on Taylor's shoulders and looked down at her. "All that's left is for you to pick where you want to live, now me and my wife have a room ready for you if you want and I'm sure several of your friends will be able to give you a room as well." Taylor slowly nodded her head and looked up at Jordan for a moment before sighing. She had been staying with the Boltons for the past three days, Lillian Bolton had been told what happened the night she had taped Charles telling her that he owned her and things like that. Once Lillian had found out, she insisted that Taylor stay there at least until Charles and Whitney had been placed under arrest.

"Let's talk about that later do you want to come in when were just about to eat." Jordan looked in the door and saw Troy standing in the living room watching them silently. Lowering his gaze back down at Taylor he sent her a small smile.

"No I'm afraid I can't stay today but no worries I will later alright. I just came by to tell you about what happened today. I thought you'd want to know immediately what went down. Besides you needed to know."

"Alright are you sure."

"Positive, go ahead. I'll call you later on just in case I think you need to testify but hopefully with your tape recorder that won't be necessary. I know you told me you don't want to face him and I respect that so I'll be handle the case with that in mind." he said soothingly. "Now go ahead and enjoy your dinner I'll talk to you later." he said, before turning around and heading back towards his car. Taylor watched him go and sighed for a moment before turning back around and heading inside. As she closed the door she saw Troy standing in the living with his arms crossed over his chest.

"So how did it go, is that guy going to jail." Taylor just nodded her head and looked over at Troy for a brief moment.

"Yeah, he's going to go to jail and so is my mother. I guess what he said on the tape is true. She sold me to him." she whispered, Troy quickly crossed the small space that separated them and pulled her into a tight hug. Troy tucked her head beneath his chin while he continued to hold her tight. He really wished that Jordan had allowed him and Wilson to bring some type of physical punishment down on Charles head before he went to the police. He would have loved to teach that grown man a lesson on how to treat women.

"Hey it's going to be okay I promise." he murmured softly as he held her tightly and rocked her back and forth while rubbing his hands up and down her back. Taylor just nodded against his chest while he held her. After a while, Troy allowed her to step back and he lifted a hand up and wiped her face of the stray tears that had rushed down her face during their embrace. "I hope those are tears of relief." he murmured softly as he stared down at her. Taylor just nodded her head while taking yet another swipe at her eyes.

"They are, I guess. I'm just happy it's over but I'm really sad about my mom. I really wasn't expecting something like that to happen. I guess what I'm saying is, I didn't really expect what Charles had said to be true." Troy just nodded his head and pulled Taylor to his side.

"I'm sorry about that but at least you're out of that house and as far away from them as you can get." he said smoothly, "You didn't need to be there especially if some deal like that had been made behind scenes."

"You're right but it hurts."

"I know." he whispered as they returned to the kitchen, where Lillian and Wilson sat, Lillian looked over at Taylor and sent her a small smile while looking between her and Troy. She watched as her son pulled out Taylor's chair and helped her sit down before sitting down next to her. Wilson quietly watched the exchange as well before sending a knowing look Lillian's way. They both could see the attachment that both Troy and Taylor had for one another.

"Was that Jordan?" Wilson asked as he looked over at Taylor who just nodded her head and looked down at her plate. Troy looked over at him and quickly spoke up.

"Yeah that was him, he came by to tell her that Charles is basically going to jail with Whitney. She really was in on it all." Troy said as he looked over at Taylor and then back at Wilson. "But let's not talk about that right now. Let's just enjoy the dinner." Wilson nodded his head and focused back on his plate. The dinner went along smoothly until Lillian spoke up her voice soft and struggling with an emotion that she was trying to keep back.

"Taylor I know you agree a few weeks ago but are you still going to accompany us to the memorial tomorrow for Troy's father." Taylor felt Troy grow stiff at his mother's question. She sent him a look before glancing at the older woman.

"Of course I'm still coming I gave you and Troy my word that I would and that won't change." Taylor said as she sent Lillian a smile while looking over at Troy curiously, and watched as he now focused on shoveling his food into his mouth. She didn't know what was going with him after all he was the one that had asked her to go. They continued their dinner and then Wilson sighed and stood up and pushed himself away from the table.

"I guess I better head on home before my wife comes out looking for me." he said with a yawn, "It was a nice dinner Ms. Bolton," he said as he sent Lillian a smile before glancing over at Taylor who sat in her chair watching him. "Taylor do you want to walk me out?" he asked as he headed for the front door but paused and looked back at her. Standing up from the table, Taylor only nodded her head and stood.

"Yes I do." Wilson nodded and waited as Taylor pushed herself away from the table and quickly headed over to him. Together they headed out towards the limo that Wilson always drove as they stepped out onto the front porch, Wilson turned and looked down at Taylor and placed a hand on her arm.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he looked down at the girl he consider to be one of his granddaughters, especially since he had been around since her birth. Taylor looked up at him for a moment before crossing her arms over her chest and sighing.

"I'm doing okay, I'm just glad that it's all over and that Mr. Mitchell is going to take care of things." Wilson looked down at her for a moment before slowly shaking his head. He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm truly sorry for the relationship between you and your mother-" he paused and looked down for a moment. "No child should have to go through something like this-ever." Stepping back, he looked over his shoulder at the Bolton house. "Is it safe to assume that this is where you will be staying from now on."

"I have to ask Ms. Bolton." Taylor said with a sigh. "But I think that's safe to assume that." Wilson just nodded his head and bent down and placed a kiss on Taylor's forehead.

"Alright then, just make sure that Troy stays out of your bedroom." Taylor just rolled her eyes as Wilson headed off towards his car. Once she saw him driving away, she turned and headed back into the house. She saw Troy sitting in the living room, walking over she sat down next to him and glanced at the television.

"So what's on."

"Um, nothing really. I'm not really paying attention." he said softly as he looked over at her before glancing back at the television. Taylor sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder, Troy sighed around on the sofa a bit so that he could drape his arm around her shoulders.

"Where's your mom?"

"I helped her put up the food and stuff and she headed upstairs. Said she was tired and she wanted to be ready for-she wants to be ready for tomorrow." Taylor could hear the strain in his voice and pulled back a bit to look at him.

"What's going on with you, Troy. Why are you acting like you don't want to go to the memorial tomorrow. Every time someone brings it up, you close yourself off and well do you want to talk about it." Troy looked down at her and then pushed himself back up from the sofa while shaking his head. Taylor remained seated and watched as Troy paced back and forth in front of her. Finally he came to a stop and looked at her.

"I don't want to go tomorrow." he finally said as he looked over at her. "I've been distracting myself by focusing on you and getting you away from those people that I didn't allow myself to even dwell on the fact that my father's memorial is going to be tomorrow." he said with a shake of his head as he finally stopped pacing and placed his hands on his hips. "I don't want to feel this way, but the ceremony is going to take place in the gym. The last place I saw him, the last place I had a conversation with him."

"Troy I told you before, that your father knew those words you said to him weren't what you really meant. He already knew that-stop letting that last moment between the two of you haunt you like this." she whispered as she stood up and walked over to him. Troy immediately wrapped his arms around her and held her in his arms. Taylor held him tight as he silently cried, "You have to go tomorrow Troy. I think it will help you."

"I don't know about that."

"There's no reason to be scared to go there tomorrow," she whispered as she pulled back and looked at him. "You'll be fine and believe this will help you out okay." Troy just nodded his head as he looked up at her before leaning forward and placing a soft kiss on her lips. Taylor gasped in shock at his actions but quickly gave him a quick peck on the lips back before stepping back, however Troy kept his arms locked around her waist as he looked down at her. "Troy?"

"I'm sorry but I just had to do that, Taylor." he said softly as he continued to stare into her eyes. "I like you a lot, you've been there for me and didn't back down when I was a little stand-offish and I think that just made me like you more." Taylor just nodded her head as Troy pulled her back towards him. He bent his knees and rested his head on her shoulder while whispering. "Thank you."

The next morning, Troy stood in front of his bedroom mirror trying adjust his suit so he wouldn't look like he had just thrown something on that morning. He kept his eyes on his appearance as he heard the sound of someone knocking on his bedroom door. "Come in." he called out without taking his eyes off the mirror. A second later, he heard the door opening and saw Taylor behind him in the mirror. She was dressed in a nice black dress and had her hair pinned up.

"Is everything okay?" she asked curiously as she looked over his shoulder at the mirror and took in his appearance. Troy released a huff and slowly sighed for a moment before frowning.

"Do I look okay?" he asked as he turned around and faced her. Taylor slowly stepped back and took in his attire. He had on a dark black suit with a white shirt underneath. He looked extremely nice. There was nothing unkempt about his appearance.

"You look fine, Troy."

"Do you think I should wear a tie?" he asked as he looked at her for a moment before slowly releasing a sigh. "I mean would it make the suit look better." Taylor studied him for a moment. She could tell he was extremely nervous. He hadn't been at the school for over four months. He was probably going to be surrounded by friends that wanted to tell him that they were praying and thinking about him and to top it all off he was still reeling from the last confrontation that he had with his father.

"What will make you comfortable, go like that. There's no reason to be uncomfortable Troy." she said, he nodded his head in understand and dropped his hands to his side.

"Well then I guess I'm ready." he said softly as he looked over at her. Taylor nodded not really sure what she should do. The kiss they had shared last night had been a thing of comfort at least that's what she was thinking. Troy quickly walked over to her and latched onto her hand, leaning down he kissed her forehead. "Come on let's go." When they walked downstairs, they saw Wilson and Lillian waiting on them. Last night, during dinner Wilson had offered to drive them to the ceremony and bring them back. Wilson raised an eyebrow when he saw Troy holding Taylor's hand but didn't say anything about it.

"Is everyone ready to go?" he asked instead as he looked at them. Lillian rubbed a hand over her wedding band and slowly nodded her head.

"Yes we're all ready to go." Wilson nodded and opened the front door. He waited till Lillian locked her front door before leading them to the limo. He opened the door for them and waited till they were inside and seated before pulling off and heading for the school.

Lillian sat in the backseat silently watching as her son comforted Taylor as they drove. It was obvious that she something had happened to her. She watched as her son, gently coaxed Taylor into releasing the door handle she had latched onto earlier. Troy whispered some things in her ear and then after a moment, she was resting against his side with her eyes closed as she took several steady breaths. As she watched them, she remembered what Wilson had told her earlier this morning as Taylor went upstairs to check on Troy. He had told her that he had never seen to young people so concerned with the other. He told Lillian how much Taylor worried about Troy and how he was dealing with Jack's death, and how Troy was so focused on helping Taylor escape the situation she had been in with her mother and Charles. They were good for one another, he had said as he looked up towards the stairs and as she sat in the car watching them, she had to agree.

When they got to the school, they were quickly ushered into the gym where Coach Woodson was. Once the older man saw Lillian and Troy, he rushed out to greet them. "Hello, Mrs. Bolton, I am extremely sorry that we have to meet under circumstances such as these." he said softly as he looked at her before turning his attention towards Troy.

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm doing okay." Troy replied softly as he squeezed Taylor's hand tightly. Coach Woodson just nodded his head and looked at Troy for a moment before clasping his hands together.

"The ceremony will start in about five minutes, all the students just needed to go to homeroom but they will be filing in her pretty soon." he said with a slow nod of his head. "If you want you can go and have a seat over there in the chairs." Lillian nodded and headed off onto the court and took one of the assigned seats near the podium. Troy followed his mother with his eyes before turning to look at Taylor.

"I can't do this?" he whispered hoarsely as he looked down at her and then back at the floor. He hadn't step foot on that floor since his father's death. "Taylor I can't do this." he whispered again as he looked down at her. Taylor lifted her hands up and cupped his face between her hands and stared him directly in the eyes.

"Yes you can and I'm going to be with you every step of the way okay." Troy nodded and Taylor sent him a little smile. Troy leaned down and placed a quick kiss on her lips before pulling back. Taylor allowed him to latch on to her hand. Together they stepped out on the gym floor and made their way to the assigned seats. As they settled down, the rest of the student body came pouring in and started taking seats on the bleachers. Troy watched and gave a couple nods towards his teammates and even waved at Chad and Zeke who had walked in with Gabriella and Sharpay. Once everyone was seated, Coach Woodson got up and headed to the podium. He waited till the crowd quieted down before speaking. He looked out over the crowd and spoke up his voice exploding all over the gym.

"Today is a day that the school of East High pays its respect to one of our most loved members, Jack Bolton." The crowed roared with applause, as Coach Woodson said those words. Troy sat back in his seat holding Taylor's hands as he listened to the man currently at the podium. "I'm not sure if any of you know this but I used to play against Jack Bolton back in college. He was an intense man on the court, he loved the game of basketball but I know that he was a loving husband and father off the court," Coach Woodson turned and looked at Troy and Lillian. "The entire East High family feels for your lost and we pray each day that his absence becomes easier," turning back around he looked at the crowd again. "While here Coach Bolton led the Wildcats to several state championships either as a player or the head coach, however I think the best banner that will be flying from those rafters next year will be his number." Troy looked up then as a drape he hadn't seen earlier floated to the ground and he saw a large jersey hanging from the rafters with the number 41 on it. He felt his eyes tear up as he saw the name Bolton up there. Standing up along with the rest of the crowd he cheered even as he felt tears threatening to come out of his eyes. He couldn't think of a better honor that the school could have given his father and at that moment he was glad Taylor had made him come.


	10. Chapter 10

I don't own anything.

**Alright it's time for a new update but first off I want to thank my reviewers from last week;_ HeartsWereNeverMeantToRace (thanks for catching that mistake), chaylorXtraylorlover, NaeNae1495, Aipom4, chaylorfan, Tina and Zaddie-Mad_. Thanks for much for the reviews and I hope everyone enjoys this chapter.**

**Baby S**

Chapter Ten

Several Months Later. . .

"Okay so you think this is an okay outfit to wear on my first day back at school?" Troy asked as he walked into Taylor's room that August morning. After everything that went down with her mother and Charles, Taylor had decided to live with Troy and his mother where she felt the most comfortable. Her arrival in the Bolton household seemed to be a blessing. Lillian Bolton found herself hanging around Taylor whenever Troy wasn't hogging up all of her time and Troy had opened up even more, although he still clammed up whenever his friends came by asking him about basketball and talking about his father. Besides that, the Bolton household felt alive again after so many months of misery after Jack Bolton's death. Taylor looked up from tying her shoes to look over at Troy who was staring at her while standing in the middle of her room with his arms outstretched.

"I think so, the blue really looks nice on you." she said as she studied him for a moment. "Brings out those lovely eyes." Troy blushed at her words and crossed the room over to her side.

"Now Taylor what have I told you about that. You have to use manly words when you flatter me." she giggled as he leaned over her and boxed her in as best as he could on her bed. "But thank you for the kind words." Lowering his head, he brushed a quick kiss over her lips just as a throat cleared behind them. They both glanced at the door sheepishly and saw Lillian Bolton standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips.

"Troy what have I told you." she said shaking her head, while Troy pushed himself off the bed and smiled over at his mother.

"I swear we were on our best behavior." he said as he glanced back down at Taylor and sent her a wink.

"I saw that Troy, now why were you in her room."

"Getting a woman's perspective on my first day back to school outfit," he said as he looked between his mother and Taylor while grinning. "I wanted to look my best today and I figured Taylor could help me out with that."

"You aren't fooling anyone with that lie," Lillian said. "And Taylor I'm so disappointed in your right now, letting him come in here and just-ugh!" she declared while looking up at the ceiling wondering how she ever got roped into having her son's girlfriend living in the same house as her very hormonal son. Because I like the girl. She told herself silently while looking at the smiling teenagers. "Troy you look fine now get out here and let the girl get dressed." Troy rolled his eyes at his mother's statement playfully and looked over at Taylor who was struggling not to laugh out loud at his face.

"Mom's she's already dressed."

"Now." Troy quickly bent down and pressed another kiss to Taylor's lips before rushing past his mother so she couldn't smack him upside the head for his last act of defiance. Taylor just smiled as she looked over at Mrs. Bolton.

"He really was asking me about his outfit."

"Oh I have no doubt he was asking you about that, Taylor. He'd come up with anything so he can come in here, but you know the house rules." Lillian said with a tired sigh. "Both of your rooms, especially yours are off limits." she said with a shake of her head. "Now hurry up so you can have some breakfast sweetie, Wilson should be here soon." Lillian walked over and pressed a kiss to Taylor's forehead.

"By the way you look absolutely lovely today, sweetie. I hope you don't make my son jealous with all those boys drooling over you at school." Lillian winked at her as she walked out of the room. Once the door closed, Taylor released a small smile as she thought about Lillian Bolton. She had become the mother figure in her life that she had been craving since she realized just what type of mother she had. Lillian was caring and in general one of the nicest women she could have ever met and she so happened to be Troy's mother. Standing up she quickly checked herself out in the mirror and grabbed her book bag and headed downstairs. As she descended down the stairs she heard Wilson talking to Troy about something but she couldn't really make out what they were discussing. Once she was in view, Wilson stepped back from Troy and grinned at her.

"Hey baby girl." he said as he walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. "How are you doing are you ready for your first day as a Sophomore?"

"I'm ready." she said with a nod of her head while looking over at Troy who was currently staring at her silently. "What about you Troy?"

"Oh yeah." he said with a nod of his head as he looked at her. "I'm ready." he said nodding his head again. Taylor studied him for a bit before turning back and looking at Wilson.

"I guess we better go, we don't want to be late." At her words, Troy walked over and picked up her laptop bag and headed out the door with Wilson right on his heels. Taylor moved to follow but stopped as Lillian called her name. "Yes." she asked turning around to look at the older woman who was standing in the middle of the living room wringing her hands as she looked at the front door before finally focusing on Taylor.

"I just wanted to ask you to look out for Troy today. You know this is the first day that he'll be back at East High since his father. . ." she trailed off and looked away from her. Taylor walked over to the woman and pulled her into a tight hug.

"I'll watch out for him." she promised as Lillian wrapped her arms around her and hugged her back.

"Thank you, now go on you don't want to be late." Lillian said as she ushered her towards the door. Taylor nodded and then turned and headed to the limo that Wilson still drove and slipped inside as the limo. As soon as she was inside, Troy helped her buckle up and then draped his arm around her. The method had proven to calm her nerves during the drives and Troy was always ready to help her through her little anxiety attacks during the trips. Leaning her head against his shoulder, she listened as he told it would be okay and that he was there for her.

Nearly twenty minutes they arrived at the school and the roles had reserved immediately, Troy was now the one that was tense with anxiety while Taylor was trying to calm down. Wilson unloaded their bags and placed his heavy hand on Troy's shoulder. "Everything will be fine Troy." he said smoothly as he looked at the younger man.

"Oh yeah of course." Troy mumbled as he looked over at Taylor who was holding his hand at the time. "Everything is going to be fine." he deadpanned as he looked at the school. Taylor squeezed his hand and quickly gained his attention. He looked down and her and received a reassuring smile that him instantly relaxing. "See ya later Wilson." he called out over his shoulder as he allowed Taylor to lead him towards the school. As they neared the entrance they were instantly met by Sharpay, Gabriella, Chad and Zeke the other members of their little group that formed over the summer break.

"Hey love birds." Chad said as he draped an arm around Gabriella's shoulders while reaching out to pound Troy's fist.

"Really, man that's what you're going to call us." Troy said as he furrowed his brow at his best friend while Zeke just shook his head and slapped Chad on the shoulder.

"You know mop top over here is as unoriginal as they come." he said with a chuckle while shaking his head. Chad turned to look at him then and mouthed the name 'mop top,' while Zeke just chuckled and nodded his head. "Oh don't act like you've never heard it before." he said. "What you need to do is go to a barber shop and-."

"And nothing this," he said lifting his hands towards his hair. "Is my badge of honor, it let's everyone know who I am," as he winked at Gabriella. "Besides she likes it a lot." he said with a smirk while Gabriella just rolled her eyes and looked at Taylor.

"You look so good, Taylor." Gabriella gushed, Troy watched as Taylor blushed and bowed her head a bit. He smiled down at her and looked at her two friends.

"I know I told her." Troy said with a cheeky grin as Sharpay reached out and slapped his shoulder while sending him a look.

"We weren't talking to you." Sharpay snapped out playfully as she pulled back to glance at her watch. "Come on we better get inside before the bell rings." They all walked into the school and headed for their lockers. As Troy walked with Taylor towards her locker, someone called out his name turning around he saw several members of the varsity basketball team standing there looking at him. Mark Hudson was the first to make a move, he quickly crossed the divide and pulled Troy into a brotherly hug.

"Hey man." He said as he stepped back and slapped Troy on the arm, while ignoring all the students nearby. "I'm glad you're back dude." Troy nodded his head and shared a look with Taylor before speaking up.

"Glad to be back man." he admitted smoothly as he looked at the guy he had once considered a friend. Mark studied him for a bit before stepping in closer and draping his arm over his shoulder and leading him away from Taylor and their friends.

"Yo man I was just thinking about how sick the team would be this year if you-." Troy held up his hands and slowly shook his head. He had no intent on getting back on the team. Basketball wasn't something he was focusing on at the moment. At least that's what he had been telling himself all summer. He was proud this father had gotten his his jersey 41 retired but he wasn't so keen on playing again. The court was probably the only place he still wanted to avoid.

"I'm not playing basketball." Troy said as he shook his head and back up away from Mark whose eyes widened in complete and total shock over his words.

"What da hell do you mean you're not playing?" Mark snapped out angrily as he looked at the younger boy before him as if he had truly lost his damn mind. "Look man whatever you're thinking it's not your fault and-."

"Yo man on the real shut-up." Troy snapped out as he sent Mark a heated glared that stopped the older boy in his tracks. "If I said I'm not playing then guess what I'm not playing." Turning around, he walked over to Taylor and waited for her to get her books so he could walk her to class. Mark stood there with the rest of the basketball team simply glaring at him as he spoke softly to Taylor while ignoring them. Chad and Zeke noticed the stares and shook their heads, they had tried to get Troy to play a simple pick-up but it seemed like he wanted to forget basketball and focus on everything else in his life. They had come to terms with his decision during the summer.

"You heard him man, so how about you back off." Zeke said coming in their line of vision and taking their gazes off of Troy and Taylor. He knew how Mark could be since he sent last year stopping the guy from picking Taylor and her friends. Mark narrowed his eyes at Zeke and then looked over his head back at Troy.

"Fine." he snapped out angrily as he turned and his crew walked away. Troy watched them go and then looked down at Taylor who was staring up at him.

"You okay Troy." she asked as she placed a hand on her shoulder. He looked at her for a moment before nodding his head.

"Yeah I'm fine I guess I should have expected that to happen huh." he said while shrugging his shoulders as he looked in the direction that Mark and the other guys had walked off in. Looking back at Taylor he sighed. "I should have expected it." Taylor gave him a small smile and then pulled him down and gave him a quick kiss that she hoped comforted him. Troy sighed into the kiss and wrapped his arms around her waist and held her to him while deepened the kiss. The clearing of a throat made them jump apart and Troy turned and saw Coach Woodson standing nearby with his hands behind his back.

"None of that now." he said coolly before walking off. Troy followed him with his eyes as he disappeared down the hallway. Turning back around to look at Taylor, Troy sighed and sighed his shoulders.

"I guess I better get you to class then huh." he said as he placed his band on her lower back and led her down to her first class before heading off towards his own.

Troy had to admit that he was enjoying his first day back at East High although he knew he would wish the time he spent with Taylor just studying at his house. He certainly couldn't use her teaching him something as an excuse to be all over her like had during the last school when he had been locked away in his home. Besides now that he had Taylor were together he didn't have to make up reasons to be around her. He just could, except when they were at home. When she approached Taylor with the offer of staying with them, she had told them the only rule she really had was that they were suppose to stay out each other's rooms. She didn't trust him with his girlfriend, didn't trust him to be alone with Taylor without putting his hands all over her and for the most part his mother was absolutely right. if he was alone with Taylor he couldn't keep his hands off of her and as far as he was concerned there was absolutely nothing wrong with that. It was the end of the day and Troy was wondering where Taylor could possibly be as he stood outside in the hallway near her locker, he saw Coach Woodson heading down the hallway towards him. The older man paused as he saw Troy and sent him a small smile.

"How was your first day back?" Coach Woodson said as he settled down on the hallway bench that Troy was currently sitting on. Troy clapped his hands together and looked over at Coach Woodson before shrugging his shoulders.

"It was fine-it was a good day." he said with a sigh as watched Coach Woodson smile at his words. The man reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder while leaning back against the wall and looking straight ahead.

"Well the team had their first meeting today," he drawled out lazily as he peeked over at Troy to see what his reaction would be. "Mark was complaining about you not wanting to play-I'm sorry if he approached you and brought up some feelings you'd rather keep buried." Troy raised an eyebrow at Coach Woodson's words and looked at him not really believing what he was currently hearing. The man was talking like he really understood him and so far he was pretty positive the only people that did were his mother and Taylor.

"Thanks for saying that."

"Not a problem," Coach Woodson said as he looked over at him. "You don't have to play basketball if you don't want too. I won't say I understand why you're doing it but I get it. I get why you're reluctant to do so." Coach Woodson stood up then and looked at Troy. "Just so you know, you won't have to worry about the basketball team pressuring you or anything. That's not going to happen." With that said, Coach Woodson walked off down the hallway with his arms behind his back. Troy watched as he disappeared around the corner.

"What was that all about?" Troy looked up at the sound of Taylor's voice and quickly pushed himself off the bench and walked over to her.

"Nothing, he was just talking about what happened with Mark earlier today. He basically told me that it wouldn't happen again." Taylor nodded her head as she looked at him and then sent him a small smile.

"That's good, that boy really needs to mind his own business." she said with a shake of her head. Troy just nodded his head and mumbled a yeah, while taking another look down the hallway. All he could think about was how weird that conversation with Coach Woodson had been.

"I hope you weren't waiting to long. Sharpay and Gabriella wanted me to go over a song with them and since I missed last year's recital due to mess our music that we had been working had been postponed."

"I'm gonna ask again, are you singing?" he asked huskily as he looked at her. Taylor rolled her eyes at his words and just shook her head.

"You know I don't sing, Troy." she countered back playfully. "I simply make the music and play the music besides I like that better. But you do sing, how about you sing for me." Troy blushed a bit and just shook his head.

"I can't do that, cause in order for me to be comfortable I'd have to sing in my boxers and socks." Taylor fanned herself as they stepped outside the school and all Troy could do was smirk at her reaction.

"Please try not to but that type of imagery in my head right now."

"What are you telling me you can't handle it?" he asked with a smirk as they neared the limo when Taylor shot him a look that all but answered his question. Grinning, he started chuckling uncontrollably as they climbed into the back of the limo. Once the door closed, Troy leaned over towards Taylor and whispered in her ear. "Don't worry I plan to see just how well you'll handle things once I get you alone."

"Which will never happen." Taylor said in sing song voice, cause if there was one thing she knew, it was that Lillian Bolton wasn't ever going to leave those two alone in the house. Troy just raised an eyebrow at her words and took it as a challenge.

"We'll see." he whispered in her ear as Wilson slid into the car. Settling back, Troy watched as Taylor blushed while leaning into him. Wrapping his arm around her waist he pulled her to him and helped her enjoy the ride home.

"Taylor I really don't know why we have to do this." Troy groaned later on that afternoon as Taylor dragged him out into the backyard. Her stay at the Bolton house had allowed her to discover the perfect place to study especially when she didn't feel like heading down the street to the park and that place was the Bolton back yard underneath the large tree that sat in the far corner of the backyard.

"Oh stop all that whining, you know I want to come outside and read and it was getting stuffy in the house." she said as she sat down and pulled Troy down with her. "Besides you promised to keep me company."

"Would get in trouble if I told you that I thought you meant in front of the t.v." he asked as he settled down beside her with a small grin on his face. She sent him a glare and whack his shoulder with her book. "Alright then I guess I got my answer then." he said with a chuckle as he slowly shifted so that his head was in her lap.

"Troy?"

"What I like laying my head in your lap," he said as he covered his mouth as he released a yawn. "I think it's one of the most comfortable things in the house." Taylor couldn't help but laugh as Troy closed his eyes and sighed. "So relaxing."

"We won't stay out here long, I just wanted to come out here for some fresh air."

"I know baby." he said smoothly as he looked up at her. "It's close just enjoy your time don't mind me." closing his eyes he tried to get a nap in while Taylor read. They had developed a little system over the summer. She'd hold her book a certain while to shield his face from the sun while he supported her arms. Doing this made them both comfortable, and his mother also said they did things like that so they could touch as much as possible. Troy didn't think he'd disagree with his mother on that one cause she was right. They sat out there for nearly twenty minutes, the only sound being Taylor turning the pages in her book.

"Did you enjoy your first day back?" Troy asked suddenly. Taylor lowered her book and took it away from Troy's face and simply looked at him.

"Yeah it was fine, why did you enjoy your first day back?" Troy closed his eyes and thought about her question for a moment before slowly sighing and opening his eyes back up and looking her in the face.

"I guess it was alright but I would have rather just stay at home with you and studied. I think I'm better with things like that." he said with a cheeky grin that only made Taylor roll her eyes at him while shaking her head.

"Please you just like to have me all to yourself." she said on a laugh wondering if she should approach the main reason why he said what he had just said. She knew it didn't have anything to do with her and everything to do with his father and Wildcat basketball in general. Troy smirked at her statement and nodded his head.

"Well I am an only child and that sometimes means I don't share well with others. Just make sure that Devon Jones understands that or I won't be so kind next time." he said his blue eyes darkening as he thought about the new kid that he had found hitting on Taylor during the breaks between classes. "Had to tell that boy off twice."

"He's harmless."

"Not when he's hitting on you he's not." he countered gruffly as he looked at her while she just smiled.

"Well think it's cute. He's just a freshman and I guess he thought I was cute." Troy just grunted out something unintelligible and looked away from her. "My goodness you are so jealous," she gushed as she playfully reached and pinched his cheek. Troy playfully batted her hands away from his cheek and released a huff.

"Of course I'm jealous. I don't like strange men fondling all over you."

"You mean when he put his hand on my shoulder." she asked over a giggle. "Cause he sure was feeling me up, I mean how did he knew that was my spot."

"Exactly." Troy said as he lifted off her lap and turned to look at her. "How did he know that was your favorite spot." Taylor blinked as she looked at Troy and then quickly shook her head as she looked away from him.

"That's not my spot Troy." she said in confusion, Troy only shook his head in disagreement as he studied his blue eyes growing dark with passion.

"Oh but it is," he leaned closed and placed a gentle kiss on her shoulder and smirked as Taylor shuddered beneath him. "See."

"You better stop before someone sees us." she murmured as Troy merely replied with a soft 'sure,' before continuing with his kissing assault. Finally his lips found her and they settled back and began kissing passionately. The make-out session lasted a long time and then finally a door slammed. Troy gave her one last kiss and pulled away.

"Hey mom." he said sheepishly as he looked over towards the backdoor and saw his mother standing on the back porch. Lillian Bolton eyed them both and then pointed towards the house.

"Come on inside dinner's ready."

"We'll be right in." Troy said as he stood up and then basically hoisted Taylor off the ground. She leaned into his side and giggled as she thought about Mrs. Bolton and the rant she was probably going to give them for what she walked in on a few moments ago. "Come on let's go inside."

"Do you think she's gonna erect a tower to put me in." Taylor said over a giggle as she just shook her head. Troy smirked at her and just sighed.

"Maybe but don't worry I can handle that. I'll have you out in no time." he said as brushed a kiss against her cheek as he opened the back door and let her go in a head of him. Taylor just smiled and headed inside as he followed behind her. As they entered the kitchen, Lillian Bolton shook her head at them.

"You two are impossible, you do know that right." she said with a sigh as she looked at them. Troy smiled at his mother's words and had to jump back as she tried to smack his arm. "You're suppose to stay still." she said as she laugh as Troy quickly raced to the other side of the kitchen and hid behind Taylor whose eyes widened in shock.

"Protect me baby." he whispered jokingly in her ear. However when Lillian rushed over towards them. Taylor ducked out of the way with a scream as Lillian grabbed her son and gave him a few quickly playful smacks on the arm as he laughed. "Taylor!"

"What I know better." she said as she looked over at Mrs. Bolton who was nodding her head at Taylor. Troy just smiled and looked at her before looking over at his mother.

"You should be beating me like this mom."

"Oh please boy, you know that didn't hurt." she said with a shake of her head as she looked at her son who just smiled. "Now how about you two have a seat and tell me about your day at school," Lillian said as she pulled out her chair and sat down. Troy and Taylor did the same and looked at one another trying to figure out which person would start first. "Come on I really want to know."

"Well I guess I'll go first." Taylor said with a small smile and she started telling Lillian all about her day and how much she enjoyed being back at school and how it was a bonus to have Troy there with her. Troy sat silently off to the side listening to Taylor with a small smile on his face. When it came to be his turn, he'd tell his mother how good the first day back was mainly because he had Taylor by his side. His mind briefly went to the basketball team and Coach Woodson, he didn't really want to dwell on it but Coach Woodson's talk with him that afternoon was stuck in his mind.


	11. Chapter 11

I don't own anything.

**A/N: Sorry for the delay but writer's block has been killing me towards this story. First off I want to thank my reviewers from last time; _chaylorXtraylorlover, NaeNae1495, sweetchocolate26, Phelycia, chaylorfan and Tina_. I hope everyone enjoys the chapter and please Review and tell me what you think.**

**Baby S**

Chapter Eleven

The sound of bouncing basketballs coming from the gym slowly pulled Troy out of his normal routine that usually had him waiting in the hallway while Taylor finished up her music class. Frowning, he rubbed a hand over his face and resisted the urge to walk back down the hall and look in on the Varsity team's practice. It had been nearly a year since he picked up a basketball and lately he had feeling the urge to pick one up again. He wanted to dribble, to shoot, to play at least one pick-up game. He knew the start of the season was a little over a month away and Coach Woodson was making the boys practice every afternoon which was why he no longer saw Chad and Zeke after school since they had both been able to make the Varsity squad this year. "Troy?" looking up, he smiled when he saw Taylor coming down the hallway. Pushing himself up and off the school bench, he smiled at her and walked over to her meeting her halfway. Taking the her bag, he latched onto her free hand and pulled her close so he could brush a kiss on her cheek.

"Hey baby." he said with a smile as he pulled back and looked over her shoulder and saw Sharpay and Gabriella coming up the hallway. "Ladies." he called out to them, they both smiled and sent him a wave before but didn't change their pace making it rather obvious that they were trying to give the two of them a minute alone. They'd never know how much he appreciated it seeing as how his mother rarely let the two of them spend any time alone back home. He pulled out of his thoughts, by Taylor placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay? Do you have a headache?" Taylor asked her worry and concern for him coming through her voice. Troy sent her a reassuring smile while shaking his head.

"I'm fine." he said softly. "Why do you ask?"

"Cause you were clutching your head like something wanted to get out." Sharpay said cutting into the conversation as her and Gabriella finally made it to their sides. Troy rolled his eyes at her description and shook his head.

"First I wasn't clutching my head, I was massaging it and second I'm fine." He said, pausing as he noticed that all three girls held a look of disbelief on their faces. Groaning, he decided to change the subject. "Um are you guys riding with us this afternoon or-."

"We're staying, the boys are having a scrimmage today and they asked us to stay." Gabriella said as she looked over at Troy. "If you want, you can-." Shaking his head, Troy waved a hand in the air at her words and just sighed.

"No, it's cool you two enjoy yourselves and tell Chad and Zeke I said good luck." he said grabbing hold of Taylor's hand. "I guess we'll be see you tomorrow." Taylor sent Troy a look before looking back at her friends.

"Yeah see you tomorrow." she called out over her shoulder as she allowed Troy to pull her through the school and outside. Once he stepped foot outside the school building, he released a pent up breath he hadn't released he was holding and bent down at the waist. Taylor stood there watching him as if he had grown an extra head or two.

"I knew you were lying in there, Troy what's wrong?" she asked bluntly as she looked at him and gently placed a hand on his back. Troy looked over at her and then slowly sighed while walking into the parking lot his eyes locked on Wilson who was standing by his car. Turning briefly, he looked back at Taylor and sighed.

"It's nothing really." he stated firmly hoping that she would believe him but as he took in the frown on her face, he knew that she wasn't falling for anything. He nearly told her everything, when she stopped and crossed her arms over her chest and sent him a glare. "Taylor!"

"Troy tell me what's wrong, I don't like seeing you like this. I can tell something's bothering you but I can't help you if you don't tell me."

"Can I tell you when we get home?" he asked, cause he didn't want to talk about his problem here at school, in the parking lot. She studied him for a bit before sighing.

"Is it serious, Troy? I mean-." she trailed off and looked at him her eyes filled with nothing but concern. Troy glanced back at the school for a moment before shaking his head.

"It's nothing serious, just something I'm dealing with at the moment." he admitted as he looked at her. "But seriously you don't need to worry." he said softly as walked back over to her and bent down and gave her a quick peck on the lips. Turning back around, he reached out for her hand when he felt her hand slip into his his, they walked over to Wilson who was still standing outside the car waiting on them. The older man smiled when he saw the couple approaching.

"Did you both have a good day at school?" he asked while smirking down at Troy who had barely been able to stop himself from rolling his eyes at the question. Noticing the look on Troy's face, Taylor had to resist the urge to smile while answering Wilson's question.

"Today was fine." Taylor said just before slipping inside the limo she didn't have to wait long for Troy to slide in behind her. Once they were all situated, Wilson climbed into the limo and pulled out of the school parking lot. Once they arrived at the Bolton house Troy and Taylor told Wilson bye and then headed inside. As soon as the door closed, Troy could feel Taylor's eyes on his back. "We're home now tell me what's wrong?" Troy looked back at her and sighed before grabbing her hand and leading her upstairs. As they came to Taylor's room, Troy stopped and opened the door and stepped inside while Taylor walked over to her bed and saw down. "Do you wanna tell me now what's been bothering you?" she asked without even looking up, Troy sighed and rubbed a hand along the bottom of his chin. He didn't really know how to approach the topic, he went for bluntness.

"Do you think I should play basketball again?" Taylor's eyebrows rose in surprise at his question, she had to admit that wasn't what she was expecting him to tell her. She eyed him quietly as she thought over the question.

"Play basketball again-what's stopping you from playing now?" she asked bluntly as she looked at him and patiently awaited his answered. Troy looked down at the ground and studied it for a bit before speaking up his voice cracking as he stumbled over his answer.

"I'm-my-well you know." he whispered as he lifted his head and looked at her, when he met her gaze all he could see within her eyes was love and compassion for him.

"Troy if you want to play then play. He would want you to do what makes you happy and I know you love playing basketball so go ahead and do it. I'm sure your mother would have absolutely no problem with supporting you in this." she said softly as she looked at him. "Now is this for real."

"It is but I feel-Taylor I feel like I don't deserve to play." he murmured brokenly. "This was my father's game and down at East High that's my father's gym. I-I just can't get over our last conversation, I know I hurt him and-."

"What happened to your father is not your fault, Troy. I'm sure he'd tell you the same if he could cause I know he wouldn't want you to be suffering like this." Taylor said as she pushed herself up off the bed. She walked over to Troy and wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a fierce hug. "If you want to play basketball then play and just know that I'll be in the stands cheering you on for every game non-stop." Troy smiled at her words and pulled back slightly so he could look down at her.

"You know I haven't really made my decision yet." Troy said softly as he looked down at her. Taylor merely rolled her eyes at his words and shook her head.

"Please you wouldn't be asking me if you hadn't already decided that you wanted to play again, you're just trying to see what I'd say." she whispered as she nudged him a bit, Troy just laughed and shook his head as he thought about what she had just said.

"You're too smart sometimes, you do know that right." he murmured with a smirk on his mouth as he leant down and placed a soft kiss on her lips, he closed his eyes and started to deepen the kiss when someone cleared their throat. They both slowly pulled apart and turned around to find Mrs. Bolton standing in Taylor's bedroom doorway with her hands on her hips and a glared being direction in Troy's general direction.

"I swear I'm going to put a sensor here so I'll know whenever you enter this room, Troy Anthony Bolton." she snapped out as she glared at him, Troy in response only sheepishly smiled back at his mother while remaining at Taylor's side.

"We were just talking mom, I swear." he said with a small smile as he looked at his mother, who merely scoffed at his words and shook her head tiredly. Lillian into the room a little bit more and pointed a finger at her son.

"You know I get tired of having to watch you like a hawk everyday. You two I swear are like magnets." At his mother's words, Troy just smiled and circled his arm around Taylor's waist pulling her to his side.

"Magnets huh?" Taylor hit his shoulder and quickly removed herself from Troy's hold while looking at Mrs. Bolton. "Ouch!" he exclaimed while holding his arm, Taylor merely shook her head at his antics and sighed. He simply loved egging his mother on and she didn't know how to stop or if she would try if she knew how.

"Don't mind him-how was your day, Mrs. Bolton."

"Taylor!" Lillian exclaimed as she sent the young girl a look, Taylor smiled at her voice and shook her head.

"Sorry, how was your day Ms. Lillian." Troy's mother just sighed at Taylor's words and shook her head. She didn't know how many times she had told Taylor to call her Lillian, somedays the girl did and other days she didn't. Lillian knew that it all came down to Taylor being respectful which wasn't a bad thing really.

"It was good until I came up here and saw my son alone with you in your room." she said with a sigh as she looked at her son's girlfriend. Taylor carefully removed herself from Troy's hold and looked at Lillian.

"Troy and I were just talking, I promise." she admitted as Lillian nodded her and looked over at her son who was still smiling from his position on the bed.

"I believe you, but you know how sneaky Troy is-"

"Hey, I'm not sneaky." Troy exclaimed as he looked at his mother while trying to appear hurt by her words, Lillian merely shook her head at her son's words.

"Oh please Troy, let's be real. Everyday I come in here and you're in here and I always have to chase you out." Troy stood up from the bed with his arms up while a deep chuckle escaped.

"Mom if it's really that much work then maybe you should stop." As he finished his statement, he turned and wiggled his eyebrows at Taylor who could only shake her head while Lillian sent him a look that told him, that he wasn't as funny as he thought he was.

"Troy please," she said as she looked at her son before looking back over at Taylor. "So what were you two talking about?" At her question, Troy and Taylor shared a look before Taylor spoke up while continuing to look at Troy.

"Troy was telling me something so-." she trailed off as Troy cleared his throat and looked over at his mother.

"Mom I was asking Taylor what she would think if I started playing basketball again." he lowered his head slightly scared to see his mother's reaction. Lillian looked at her son for a moment before looking over at Taylor who stood by his side obviously trying to be strong for Troy. "Mom?" he asked softly.

"If that's what you want to do Troy, then do it." she finally said as she looked at her only child with a small smile on her lips as she stared at him. He lifted his head at her words and just looked at her in shock.

"So you're not-."

"I understand that being around Bolton men, means accepting their love for basketball." Lillian said with a small smile. "I supported your father and I'll support you." At his mother's words, Troy seemed to shag with relief. Lillian walked over and pulled her son into a tight hug and Troy happily returned the hug. Taylor stood by silently watching them with a smile on her face until both Lillian and Troy reached out and pulled her into the hug.

"So you're really gonna do it." Taylor asked as she sat outside with Troy as he bounced his basketball on the court his father had put in long ago. Turning to look at her, he nodded his head and dribbled the basketball a bit more. "Are you gonna tell Chad and Zeke?" He picked up the ball and twirled it in his hands for a little while before shrugging his shoulders.

"I probably should-but I'll wait till I'm better."

"You were great, I'm sure you skills haven't fallen off by that much." Troy turned and gave her a look before firing off a shot and missing. "Please you did that on purpose to prove your point." she said with a wave of her hand as she looked at him. Troy raised an eyebrow at her words and jogged over to pick the basketball up. He gave Taylor another look before glancing back towards the goal and firing off another shot. This time instead of missing the ball fell through the net effortlessly. Taylor pushed herself off the ground and walked over to them. "Good shot." Raising an eyebrow at her, Troy watched as she walked over to the basketball and picked it up.

"What do you know about basketball?" he asked as he caught her pass and tucked the ball underneath his arm.

"Enough now shoot again." he smiled at her demand and turned back to the goal and fired again. As the ball left his hands, he focused his fingers on the little pebble like skin on the ball as he fired off his next shot. Taylor watched silently and smiled as he sunk the shot again.

"Good job."

"Thanks Coach McKessie." he said with a wink as he looked over at her. "Anything else you wanna tell me." He grunted as he caught her next pass which Taylor simply placed her hands on her hips and motioned towards the goal with her eyes.

"Go again." Troy just smiled and squared back up, for the rest of the afternoon they stayed out there. Troy practicing his shots while Taylor rebounded the ball and passed it to him while shouting out words of encouragement. Troy truly couldn't believe that he was actually going to play basketball again. After all it was nearly a year ago that he had lost his father and vowed not to play the sport again. However like his mother had said he was Bolton man and Bolton men loved the game of basketball so here was planning on playing again. He just hoped he'd make his father proud and with Taylor and his mother's support he was positive he would.


	12. Chapter 12

I don't own anything.

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, I was hit with a large bit of writer's block but I sincerely hope you enjoy this update and please remember to Review.**

**Baby S**

Chapter Twelve

"So you want to rejoin the basketball team huh?" Coach Woodson asked as he looked at Troy Bolton who sat on the other sigh of the desk. A desk, he was sure the boy could tell used be his father's desk. Troy tapped his hands on his knees and nodded his head as he looked back at him. "Do you mind if I ask you why?" he paused as Troy gave him a look. "I'm just saying that the last time I approached you, you didn't seem all that interested in playing this season."

"I just-I just want to play. I can't really describe except that maybe-."

"Maybe you can't put the game down like you initially thought you could." he supplied as he looked at the boy before him. Troy thought over his words for a moment before nodding his head. Coach Woodson was right, he did think he could put down the game but now he knew he truly couldn't and didn't want to him. Basketball was something he and his father shared and he was sure his father would not be happy with him giving it up.

"Yeah I guess you're right. I really just want to play not only for myself but also for my dad. I was thinking that I could dedicate every season here at East High to him." Coach Woodson smiled at that and nodded his head as he looked at the young man.

"I don't have a problem with that son, heck I played with your father when I went here too." At Troy's shocked expression, he smiled. "Didn't I tell you that already?" he asked with a shake of his head as he looked at Troy. "Now I'm glad you're playing but you've missed about a month and a half of conditioning and well-."

"Don't worry about that I'll get back into shape by the time the season officially starts." Troy said with a firm nod of his head. He knew before coming in here that he would have to work out to get back into basketball playing shape and he was ready for that.

"Good, good and you will be able to make to practices right." Troy just gave him a look and he laughed. "Just checking." he said as he held up his hands and smiled at the young man while shaking his head. "So how is your mother taking this news?"

"She's supporting me in this."

"And your girlfriend Taylor McKessie?"

"Again she's supporting me in this." Coach Woodson smiled at that and slapped his hand on the desk playfully while looking at Troy.

"Well I believe you have all you need to be welcomed on my team, the approval of those most important and a desire to play welcome back to the East High basketball team Troy." he said as he reached out and held out his hand for the younger man to shake. Smiling, Troy leaned forward and shook his hand.

"Thanks you won't regret it."

"Oh I know I won't." Coach Woodson said as he released Troy's hand. "Now go on, you start practicing with the team tomorrow." Troy nodded his head and walked out of the office and out onto the gym floor. He saw Taylor waiting for him by the door with Sharpay and Gabriella as he made his way towards the exit Zeke and Chad ran over to him.

"Yo man what were you talking to Coach about, you gonna play now." Chad asked as he bounced a basketball between his legs as he followed Troy. Looking over at his friend, Troy just nodded his head and Chad pumped his fist.

"Thank you man it just wouldn't be right if we played without you." he said with a bright smile as he looked at his friend. Troy just nodded his head and looked over at Chad and then back at Zeke who placed a heavy hand on his shoulder.

"He didn't pressure you into this did he?" he asked referring to Coach Woodson, Troy just shook his head at the question.

"Naw, I made this decision all on my own, I'll see you tomorrow." he said as he reached out and gave Zeke a pat on the arm. Walking over to Taylor, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and smiled down at her as she looked back up at him.

"So how did it go?"

"I start practicing with the team tomorrow." he said with a small smile, "Come on let's go home I should probably get in a little work-do you still want to help me with that."

"I don't know about you but that sounded all kinds of nasty." Sharpay exclaimed from the side just before she started laughing while dodging the smack that Elena would have given her for her little statement.

"You just jealous." Troy teasingly said back as he looked over at Sharpay who just smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Nope, my Zekey is wonderful."

"And on that note me and my lady will be heading home for the day, later." he said with a smile as he shook his head and picked up Taylor's bag. As they headed outside where Wilson was currently waiting on them. The older man smiled and opened the door for them and Troy helped Taylor get inside the vehicle. Taylor immediately buckled up her seatbelt while Troy did the same and once they were properly in their seats she spoke up.

"So he's just gonna let you back on the team."

"Yeah but I'm gonna have to make up for a month and a half of conditioning training." he said as he leaned his head back and looked up at the ceiling. "Which is seems a little bit impossible but I think I can handle it." Taylor reached over and placed her hand on his arm.

"Of course you can handle it."

"Do you still promise to help me out with the training?" he asked and Taylor had to pause at the look in his eyes before nodding her head.

"I think so although I'm not to certain I should be saying so because of that look in your eyes." Troy tried to appear innocence but he seemed he was failing miserably. Taylor only laughed at his antics and shook her head. "Troy I don't think you could appear innocence even if you really were."

"Oh you wound me." he said with a deep smirk as he looked at her. "Is that really what you wanna say to me?"

"At this time yes I do." she said with a bright smile as she leaned her head on his shoulder. Troy lifted his arm and draped it around and pulled her as close as the seat belts would allow as they rode the rest of the way home.

"Okay so you want me to do what again?" Taylor asked as she looked down at Troy who was lying on the floor, shirtless preparing to start his push-up routine.

"I need to do some push-ups, you know to build back up my strength and what not and I want you to lay on my back." Taylor raised an eyebrow at him and he chuckled and shook his head. "What Tay, I thought you told promised me you'd help me out with my training isn't that would you said."

"Yeah, physical training not your little freaky training." she pointed out with a shake of her head as she looked at him. "And you do know that's what you're doing right-freaky training." Troy did a push-up while laughing and shook his head.

"I can't cop a feel cause I need my hands for the push-ups besides you promised you'd help me."

"And what about your mother if she saw this-."

"She's see me working out and you helping me." Troy replied with a cheeky grin while wiggling his eyebrows in her direction. Taylor smiled and then released a tortured sigh.

"Fine how do you want me to um do this."

"Stomach to my back." he said as he did another push-up. Taylor looked down at him and watched as his muscles rippled with each movement. She waited till Troy settled back on the ground before doing as he said. As soon as she was fully on him, he released sigh and shook his head as she rested her head on his left shoulder. "See now this is how you train."

"Your mother is gonna get us."

"Well if she does this is well worth the risk, I really do love this, maybe when I do some lifts, I can do it with you."

"I'm not some exercise equipment, Troy." She said as he lifted up off the ground again, chuckling as she tighten her hold on his mid-section.

"I think I know that baby, I certainly do enjoy spending time with you. So instead of working out with boring objects that don't make me smile," he popped off the floor and did a one handed push-up while laughing at her gasp. "Or laugh. I work out with you. I get to spend time you and I get to work out with something I truly enjoy."

"I think that's sweet."

"You think it's sweet?" he asked as he did another push-up, ignoring the fact that Taylor's body was slowly relaxing. He couldn't take his mind off of how sensual that felt. All he knew was he would be doing this little routine again.

"Well you know I don't really think I want to admit that I think it is." she said with a small smile laid her head back on his shoulder. They remained quiet for a few minutes the only noise was the constant puff that Troy did as he got deeper into his rep. He'd do twenty-five push-ups and then wait for a minute before doing them again.

"Do you think I'll play good-I mean still be good." he asked softly. Taylor lifted her head up at his question.

"You haven't lose your skill, you just haven't played in a few months Troy and everyone understand that. You'll be fine I promise." she said softly as she bent forward and placed a kiss on Troy's naked shoulder. "I believe in you, so does your mother and friends. You'll be playing like your old self before the months out."

"I wanna be better than my old self." he admitted softly. "My father deserves a better player than what I used to be," he paused for a moment and sighed. "Does that make sense?" Taylor nodded her head before remembering that he couldn't see her.

"Yeah Troy it makes sense," she whispered. "So what number will you where?"

"Number fourteen, my dad wore number forty-one so I guess I'm going reverse it and play with that number." he whispered softly. "Hopefully when I leave the school I'm make him proud."

"He's already proud of you, Troy." Taylor whispered as she looked at him. Lifting a hand up, she smoothed it over his hair as he kept doing his push-ups. They remained silent until Troy finished his push-ups. He slowly rolled over but kept Taylor on top of him. "Um what are you doing?"

"About to do my lift exercises." he said as he picked her up. One hand supported the back of her neck while one rested on her lowered back. He quickly started lifting her before she could protest, he smiled as he heard her released a small scream as he lowered her back down. He kissed her back and then shot her back up in the air. Soon the room was filled with Taylor giggling as Troy lifted her up and brought her back down only to kiss her and then shot her back up in the air. They had been working out for quite sometime before the sound a throat clearing sounded. Troy gentled lowered Taylor back down while she covered her face with her hands.

"Mom I can explain."

"Do you think I can't see what's happening right in front of me?" Lillian asked from the doorway with her hands on her hips as she looked at her son and his girlfriend. "I swear you two make the most simplest thing some type of teenage hook-up." Taylor released a delicate snort at Lillian's observation while reaching out and smacking Troy's arm.

"I told you she'd get upset." she admonished while looking at him. Troy playfully rolled his eyes at her as his mother continued in her little tirade.

"And I know you were the ringleader with this, Taylor would never come up with something like this-nope it was you and your devilish boy mind." Lillian said with a smile on her face unable to keep up the pretense of being mad. Especially since, Taylor was rolling on her back laughing outright now. Troy looked at his mother shocked.

"My devilish boy mind?" he question a grin slowly started to make it's way onto his face. "Mom, that's not right. Taylor is just as much involved in this as I am."

"I know but she's my sweet innocent Taylor." Lillian said with a wink as she looked over at Taylor who just grinned and looked at Troy who for the most back was sitting on the floor with his arms crossed over his chest. Once the laughter died down, Lillian stepped fully in the room and looked at her son. "So what did Coach Woodson say?"

"I'm back on the team, I'm just gonna have to do some conditioning training on my own but I think I should be fine."

"That's wonderful Troy isn't it Taylor."

"It really is, I'm so happy for him." Taylor said as she looked at Lillian. " I should start making my signs cause I'll be going to every game he has."

"Home and Away?" Troy asked hopefully as he reached out for Taylor's hand. She turned and sent him one her best smiles.

"Of course and I'll be screaming my head off the entire time." Taylor said with a chuckle. "Even when you're doing your few throws-."

"Hold up wait you mean my free throws right," Troy said as he looked at his girlfriend. "Shoot I should probably educate you on the game before you come out there and saw something crazy." he said with a small smile as Taylor laughed and covered her mouth.

"Don't tell me I said it wrong?"

"Oh yes you did." Lillian just shook her head at them and turned to head out of the room but stood for a moment.

"Although I'm happy to see you two so happy, I must as a mother suggest that you both get downstairs and out of this bedroom and son please put on a shirt. You keep this up and I'm going make you live in the tree house."


	13. Chapter 13

I don't own anything.

**A/N: Alright it's time for an update but first off I want to thank my reviewers from last week; _Phelycia, NaeNae1495, Erieaud, sweetchocolate26, Ilovefics, 5k, and Mestinylover_. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and please remember to Review.**

**P.S. Mestinylover-does your name mean you like Matthew and Destiny from OLTL just wondering cause if so I like them too.**

**Baby S**

Chapter Thirteen

Taylor laid back on the lawn chair and watched as Troy practiced his free-throws. As she watched as she couldn't help but think about how mechanical he was about the shot. He had been out there for over an hour and she felt like telling him that he had mastered this shot but he kept going. His shirt was soaked with sweat but he kept going. He was so determined to get play well for the team and she admired his drive. "So you just gonna stare at me all afternoon?" he asked as he stepped forward to get his rebound and then squared back up for the shot.

"I thought you wanted me out here?" she asked as she looked at him. She heard Troy chuckle at that and she knew he was thinking about how he had thrown her over his shoulder and carried her outside to the lawn chair she was currently sitting in.

"I do baby," he said as he turned around and looked at her. "But I don't want to be objectified." Taylor quirked an eyebrow at that and smiled as she now realized that Troy was about to take a break from his shooting practice. She looked over her shoulder and then back at Troy who was grinning at her as he dropped his basketball and stepped on it to make sure that it didn't go anywhere. "Although I'm not to offended that you want to objectify me."

"Troy your mother is still um heated by the last time," she said blushing as she remembered his little workout session. Troy shrugged his shoulders and continued to walk towards her like a predator coming for it's prey. Taylor watched him quietly and nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard footsteps coming out into the backyard.

"Oh geez, did we interrupt." she looked over her shoulder and saw Chad and Zeke standing there in basketball practice attire with Sharpay and Gabrielle with them. "Cause if you need some time I'm sure we can find something on the t.v."

"Boy must you be so nasty." Sharpay said as she reached out and slapped Chad upside the head.

"Hey don't hit my boyfriend, he's just stating what all of us are thinking." she said as she sent Taylor a look that plainly told her friend that she would be asking for details at a later date. Tearing her gaze off her friends she looked back at Troy who looked like someone had just run over his puppy.

"I thought I said to come over at two." Chad pulled out his cell phone and looked at it and then glanced back at Troy and grinned.

"Oops!" Shaking his head, Troy picked up his basketball and bounced it a few times. "So um are you ready cause the offer still stands."

"Zeke." Troy called out, the boy in question smacked Chad upside his head as well. Chad scurried away from them and clutched his head.

"Dammit ya'll gonna give me brain damage if you keep doing that." Sharpay smirked at that and shrugged her shoulders.

"I think we're a bit to late for that Danforth."

"Oh ha ha!" he said as Gabrielle made her way over to him to offer him a bit of comfort. Troy watched them for a few moments before looking at Taylor who looked poised to ask a question.

"We're going to the park to play a few pick-up games, you can stay here if you want."

"Oh no she can't she has to come too." Sharpay said as she looked over at Taylor. "We have mandatory girl talk." Rolling her eyes, Taylor looked back at Troy and sighed.

"I guess I'm coming." he smiled then and walked over to the lawn chair. She watched as he sat down at her side.

"You gonna cheer me on."

"I might cheer on Chad-he looks like he needs some people in his corner."

"Oh thank you Taylor, now if only you could teach your wayward boyfriend to be as nice as you." he said with a smirk as he looked at Troy who just rolled his eyes at that. Taylor just smiled up at Chad and then looked back at Troy.

"That might not be a bad idea." Troy raised an eyebrow at that and glared over at Chad who was silently laughing at the turn of events.

"Keep it up Danforth and you won't be back over here ever."

"Not ever." Chad said with a playful pout, Troy moved to stand up but Taylor reached out and grabbed hold of his hand. She smiled at him then and rubbed her thumb along his knuckles until he calmed down. "So are we about to head out?" Troy shrugged his shoulders and looked at Taylor who just nodded her head.

"Yeah let's go I'm ready to play." he said as he stood up and gently pulled Taylor to her feet. Wrapping an arm around her waist, they followed their friends back into the house. Poking his head into the kitchen he saw his mother wiping down the counters.

"Mom, we're gonna go down to the park." Lillian Bolton turned around and looked at her son and then Taylor before nodding her head.

"Okay but you guys just remember to come back before it gets to late. I don't want you down at the park at night."

"No worries on that one Mrs. Bolton. I'm with them." Sharpay said proudly as she looked at the guys who were all staring at her now. "What? I'm not staying at some park all day so of course we're gonna go." Rolling his eyes, Troy looked back at his mother and pointed towards Sharpay.

"I guess that's reassurance that we'll be back before nightfall, later."

"Bye and you watch for Taylor."

"You don't have to tell me twice." he said as they headed out of the house. As they stepped outside and onto the sidewalk, Chad stole the basketball from Troy and started dribbling down the sidewalk. "So do you know who'll be there for the today?" Troy asked from Taylor's side, Chad turned and bounced the ball a couple of times before shrugging his shoulders.

"Not really sure but I heard some of the older guys were suppose to be there so hopefully we can all get into a game." Troy nodded his head and reached down for Taylor's hand. She looked up at him but latched on anyway. Thankfully the park wasn't that far from Troy's house and they made it there in under fifteen minutes. Chad led the group of them into the park and waved a couple of guys who were currently practicing their shots. "Hey guys what's up?" he asked cheerfully, one of them turned towards Chad and sent him a little glare.

"You're late."

"I didn't know I was on the clock." Chad said as the smile fell away.

"You were the minute you decided to bring him along." the boy said as he nodded towards Troy who sent him a glare in return.

"Is there a problem?"

"I thought you weren't gonna play basketball anymore which is why I told Chad he was late, he wasted our time bringing you here." Troy glared at Mark Hudson coldly before lifting his hands up. Chad tossed him the basketball.

"I'm playing didn't Coach tell you." he asked as he bounced the ball once and then caught it between his arm and side.

"I figured he was mistaken." Mark replied back with a shrug of his shoulders. "After all you did tell me you weren't gonna play anymore and I believed you." Troy nodded and then tossed the ball at Mark who caught it easily.

"Well I changed my mind." Troy stated firmly, "So do you wanna play or are you just gonna waste my time." Mark raised an eyebrow at that and he looked over at his friends before glancing back at Troy.

"Alright fine then but we aren't gonna take it easy on you just because you took a few months off." Taylor looked over at Troy as Mark said that insensitivity statement. Zeke tilted his head back and released a heavy sigh.

"You're going to far dude." he stated coolly as he looked at Mark. "To damn far." Taylor watched as Mark dropped the basketball on the pavement and looked at Troy who was silently clenching his fists no doubt trying to calm himself from rushing over and beating the life out of Mark. Rubbing a hand over his face, Mark sighed and and looked at Troy.

"Damn man I'm sorry, I didn't mean that the way it sounded." he finally said as he looked at his friend. Nodding his head, Troy walked further onto the court while looking at the other man. "You gotta know I didn't mean it like that." Mark said trying to rush and right the wrong he had just done. Troy nodded his head and pointed at the goal behind him.

"Well you can make it up to me by playing and shutting your mouth." he said as he reached out and slammed the basketball out of Mark's hands. "Like you said I'm out of practice so why don't you help me out some." he said as he turned around and took a shot, making it effortlessly. "Since you know I walked away from the game." Mark cleared his throat and looked at him moment and then motioned for his friends to get ready. Troy walked over to Taylor without looking back at Mark and his friends. He knew Zeke and Chad were getting ready so he felt comfortable going over to talk to her for a few moments.

"Are you okay, Troy? He was so rude, I can't believe he said that." Taylor exclaimed as soon as he was within ear-shot. Troy smiled at how defensive she was when it came to him. Leaning forward he placed a quick kiss on her temple and sighed.

"I'm fine-Mark always let's his mouth run before he actually thinks about what he's saying." he stated off-handedly as he took another glance at Mark and Taylor could see that what Mark said had hurt him.

"Are you sure you're alright, Troy?" she asked again. He smiled at her concern and bent down slightly so he could kiss her on the lips.

"I'll be fine," he said as he rubbed his hands up and down her arms. "Now we don't have to stay out here all afternoon, if you want to leave just let me know and we'll head out." he said as he reached out and grabbed her hand and gave it a small squeeze.

"Okay now you go and beat him cause he really gets on my nerve." Troy smile at that and nodded his head.

"What my lady wants my lady gets." he said with a wink as he turned and headed back on the court as Taylor turned and headed to the small set of bleachers that were put up on the side. She settled down beside Gabrielle and Sharpay.

"You and Troy are oh so cute." Sharpay stated with a bright smile as she looked at her friend, Taylor rolled her eyes at her statement. "What you guys totally are so how is it living with your boyfriend I bet it's exciting."

"His mom tries to keep us apart as much as possible."

"Well I know why," Gabriella said as she gave Taylor a knowing look while Sharpay looked at her slightly confused. "What come on Sharpay can't you tell, those two can't keep their hands off one another."

"Which is why Mrs. Bolton has to keep an eye on us constantly cause Troy is really," she paused as she tried to think of a way to describe her boyfriend's behavior. "He's really bad when we're at home." As she finished her sentence, Sharpay and Gabriella shared a look and then started laughing leaning on one another as they tried to calm down from Taylor's statement. Huffing, Taylor crossed her arms over her chest and frowned.

"What?"

"Please bad, is that really what you wanna say?" Sharpay said as she wiped beneath her eyes. "Although I'm sure you mean that Troy's bad in a totally good way right." Taylor blushed at that as her friends once again shared a look. Reaching out, Sharpay placed a hand on Taylor's shoulder and sighed as she finished up laughing.

"Don't worry we totally understand but seriously you two are too cute."

"Exactly, now about this whole mother thing do you have anything you want to share." Taylor looked at her friends and then sighed.

"Well there was this one time when he wanted me to help him exercise. . ."

Troy took one last look at Taylor before walking towards Chad and Zeke who were standing around waiting on him to join. Mark had his hands crossed over his chest as he looked at them and then finally he spoke. "Alright so what are we gonna do?" Troy looked over at the basket, and tried to think over what he could possibly do.

"How about this-the best out of three and each game goes up to twenty-five." Mark looked back at his men for confirmation that they were okay with that arrangement and then turned back around and nodded his head.

"Sounds fine to me but are you sure you can play that long."

"Don't worry about me-worry about winning." Troy said as he reached out and grabbed the basketball. "And since you pissed me off we get the ball first." Mark shrugged his shoulders and walked over towards the basket so he could be ready for defense.

"Sure I figured you guys would need any advantage possible so go ahead." Troy narrowed his eyes at Mark and then looked at Zeke and Chad who just wore grim expressions on their faces. Mark smirked at that and looked over at his friends who were just shaking their heads. "Cause if cause you haven't played for a while doesn't mean I'm gonna take it easy you guys. I don't like to lose."

"Neither do I," Troy said as he bounced the ball towards Mark. "Check." Catching the ball, Mark rolled it in his hands a little before passing it back.

"Check."

"My goodness, I might not know much about basketball but I'm sure it shouldn't be that rough." Taylor said wincing as Troy laid the ball up and got slammed in the back. She watched as he hit the fence just as his shot easily went into the hoop. "Mark is such an asshole." she muttered aloud, Sharpay nodded her head in agreement, still pissed about the boy hitting Zeke a moment earlier. They continued to watch and both reached over to grab Gabriella who jumped up at the sight of Chad getting knocked to the ground. She went off in a straight of spanish as they held her back from going out there to fight Mark herself.

"Girl will you sit down." Sharpay said as she used both hands to push Gabriella back in her seat. Huffing, Gabriella finally sat down and glared at Mark who was laughing as he went towards the basket only to have the stuffing knocked out of him by both Zeke and Troy. The girls all cheered as Mark went crashing down laughing at the look of complete and utter shock on his face before he glared up at Troy and Zeke. Sharpay laughed and shook her head at that, while nudging Taylor. "I guess things have just gotten even huh."

"Yeah I guess so but I hope they don't start fighting." Taylor stated as she looked at Mark yelling at his teammates. "If they start fighting we're gonna leave."

"You don't want to see them fight."

"No, I don't want to see them fight, Shar. Besides Troy might kick their asses and then that'll cause tense on the team which is something he doesn't need. He's already putting himself under enough pressure. He doesn't need to had any stuff to the list of things that's bothering him." she replied softly as she looked at her friends.

The girls continued to watch the game until around six o'clock but thankfully the games between Troy and Mark were over. Taylor watched as Mark walked over to Troy and gave him a handshake while whispering something in his ear while the other guys looked on. Once that was done, Mark and his friends headed out of there while Troy, Zeke and Chad made their way over to the girls.

"So who won?" Sharpay said as Zeke helped her off the bleachers.

"We did-two to one." Chad said with a cocky smirk as he wrapped an arm around Gabriella's waist. "Lost the first game but we pulled it out in the end, especially when Troy over here went Kobe on them or should I say Dirk."

"Man do you have to be so lame-all the time." Troy said as he reached out for Taylor's hand and gently led her down the bleachers.

"Whatever Troy." Chad said with a smirk. "You know I'm right either way, you starting killing those guys. Shoot we should have made a bet on who would win." he said snapping his fingers as he looked at Troy.

"We weren't gonna bet." Troy stated with a shake of his head as he looked at his friend while pulling Taylor to his side. Chad just shrugged and mumbled something about it being his lost before looking down at his watch.

"So what are you guys gonna do for the rest of the day after all it's only six o'clock on a Saturday we could all go the movies or something."

"Well you guys go ahead Taylor and I are suppose to be sharing dinner with my mom, she wanted to cook today and we promised to be there for that." Chad nodded his head and sighed.

"Man if you had a car, we'd just wait till after your dinner. I can't wait till you get your license." Troy opened his mouth to reply but stopped momentarily as Taylor tensed up by his side. He looked down at her curiously before looking back at Chad.

"I only have a few more months so you're just gonna have to wait." he said as he gave another look at Taylor. "Hey we better go see you Monday." he said as he reached down and grabbed hold of Taylor's hand. Smiling, he led her out of the park. As they started walking away, he looked down at her and sighed. "Do you mind telling me what's wrong?"

"What makes you think something's wrong?" she asked softly as she looked up at him, Troy rolled his eyes at that and released a sigh.

"Come on, when Chad was talking about-," he trailed off as he realized what had made her tense up. Taylor released a small laugh once he paused in realization. "You don't want me to drive because of what happened to your father?" he stated and asked at the same time. Taylor looked up at him then and nodded, she wasn't even gonna try to lie to him about this.

"I don't want to lose you, Troy." she whispered as she hoped the tears in her eyes didn't fall, she didn't want to start crying. Troy stopped moving and turned towards her and cupped her face with his hands as he looked her over.

"Nothing's gonna happen to me, Tay. I promise you." she looked up at him and then allowed him to pull her into a hug. "I'm not gonna leave you so you're stuck with me." he whispered softly into her hair.

"Just be careful, Troy." she mumbled into his chest, he pulled back and looked at her and nodded his head.

"I will, I'll be careful alright." he said softly. "Now let's get back home, I think my mom cooked up a storm tonight." Troy said as he rubbed his stomach with his free hand, while Taylor sent him a little look.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well when she's about to really cook, she wipes down the counters which is exactly what she was doing before we left." he stated with a knowing smile on his face. "I just hope she baked a cake too."

"My goodness you're hungry."

"I'm growing boy-man. . .um you know what I'm saying." he stated with a smile as he looked at her. Taylor just smiled and nodded her head as they continued to walk. For a few minutes they were silently simply enjoying one another's company.

"So what did Mark say to you after the game?"

"You saw that?"

"I'm not Ray Charles, Troy. I do have my eye-sight and it's perfect." she said with a shake of her head as Troy tossed back his head and laughed a loud at that. "So what did he say to you, it wasn't anything mean was it." Troy just shook his head but stopped once Taylor nudged him in the side.

"It wasn't anything bad, Tay. He just apologized about for what he said earlier and he told me welcome back and that if I played like that during the season that we'd win state." he stated proudly as he looked at her.

"Good, I guess but he better not hit you like that again."

"My hero and what will you do if he does?" Troy asked as he looked at her before grunting as she elbowed him in the side. "Just playing but seriously what will you do?"

"Kick him in the knee cause I don't think I can reach anything else." she stated seriously but I'm sure once I do that he won't mess with you again." Troy smiled at that and nodded his head as he pictured Mark holding his leg after his petite girlfriend kicked him in the shin. Leaning over he kissed her on the cheek with a bright smile on his face. "Well thank you for defending me baby now if only you could do that when my cruel mother tries to separate us." Taylor released a delicate snort at that and shook her head.

"You mess with her every chance you get."

"No I doubt what I'm doing is enjoying my time with my lovely girlfriend and she comes in and separates us. "

"Cause you're doing things like um-making me help you exercise." Troy laughed then and shook his head at her statement.

"I thought you enjoyed yourself."

"Oh I did." Taylor stated with a blush as she looked over at him and she really did enjoy herself during that little exercise workout. That whole thing was incredibly sexy and if Mrs. Bolton hadn't come when she did, she was sure her and Troy would have gone much further than that if Mrs. Bolton hadn't come by and checked on them. "But that doesn't mean that you can continue to mess with your mother." Troy grunted out something and then sighed.

"Fine I'll try to tone it done besides I'm pretty sure if we keep things going like they are, my mother will probably lose her mind and I'll have to sleep outside cause there's no way that she'll make you stay outside." Taylor smiled at that and grinned at his statement, leaning in closer to Troy she looked up at him and said.

"That's cause she loves me."


	14. Chapter 14

I don't own anything.

**A/N: Sorry so sorry for the delay! Right now I want to thank my reviewers from last time;_ NaeNae1495, chaylorXtraylorlover, mestinylover, 5k, Tina, and Traylorx3_. Thank you guys so much I hope you all enjoy this new chapter and please don't forget to Review.**

**Baby S**

Chapter Fourteen

The start of East High's basketball season was soon approaching as was Troy's fifteen birthday. Taylor for the most part felt nervous, nervous for Troy and the basketball season but mostly she was nervous about him learning how to drive and getting his license. She knew that her fear mainly came from the way her father had died. She still remembered the accident, how the car turned and turned until they were both hanging upside down in the vehicle, her father's pained moans the only sound she heard for close to an hour before the ambulance finally arrived. She didn't want to experience that feeling again with Troy, she didn't want him to die in a car accident. That was her one fear, the one that was currently keeping her up at night. She glanced over at her boyfriend as he practiced on the half court in his backyard, she knew he was probably pushing himself to hard but Troy wanted to be prepared for the first game so she told him to take a break every once in a while just to make sure that he wouldn't pass out from the heat. Looking him over, as he squared up for a shot, she decided to distract herself with his form. Although now taking him all shirtless, she wondered how she ever thought she would be able to complete her AP English assignment. Propping her head up with her hand, she sighed and tapped her pencil on the book's edge. "What was that for, Tay?" Troy asked pulling her from her thoughts and his chest. Jerking her head up, she saw him standing no more than five feet away from her arms crossed over his sweat covered chest.

"Um nothing just thinking about homework." Taylor said as she gave him a quick smile, he gave her a look and then smirked.

"Sure you were." he said as he walked up the porch steps and sat down beside her. He picked up his chilled bottle of water and took a quick sip while looking over at her. Taylor stopped tapping her pen on the table and looked over at him.

"What is that suppose to mean?" she said referring to his earlier statement. He smirked at her question and shrugged his shoulders as he watched her.

"Nothing other than I know you like what you see." he said as he popped his pecs at her. Taylor's mouth dropped open in shock as she looked at the control he had over his body. His knowing laughter pulled her out of her thoughts and forced her to glare at him.

"For your information I was thinking about my homework, like I said." she huffed, rolling her eyes at the smile that was still plastered on his face. "And you need to go and stop distracting me." Troy shifted his chair so that he was a little bit closer and sent her a small grin while shaking his head.

"But I love distracting you, baby." he said dragging out his words, Taylor blushed and shook her head just as Mrs. Bolton came outside. Troy lifted his gaze towards his mother and then looked down at himself before sighing. "Mom, this isn't what you think?" Lillian Bolton placed both hands on her hips and glared at her son.

"Oh really so what is it then. . .that I should be thinking." Troy dropped his head on the table with a small groan while Taylor giggled at his antics.

"Yeah, you would think it's funny." he mumbled from his arms, Taylor just shook her head and looked over at Mrs. Bolton. Smiling, she patted Troy on the back while looking at the woman who had become more of a mother to her than her very own mother.

"Nothing happened," she paused at Lillian's disbelieving gaze and smiled. "Seriously Ms. Lillian, he didn't anything but take a break, now as for the shirt I don't know what happened to that." she said with a small smile as she looked over at Troy who just rolled his eyes at that.

"You know exactly what happened to it. . .this heat." he said with a shake of his head. Lillian shook her head as she looked at her son, who grinned back at her and shrugged his shoulders. "Gotta do what I can to keep cool, that's what the news said and since I know you both want me to be safe. . ." he trailed off and his smile grew even more. "So Mom what brings you out here?"

"Just wanted to see you and talk to Taylor for a bit?" she said as she made her way to the table and sat down beside Taylor.

"Oh so I see it's a girl only conversation."

"Yes so you can see yourself out." Lillian said, Troy stuck his tongue out at his mother before leaning over and giving Taylor a quick on the cheek.

"Don't let her corrupt you to much." he said before jumping over the side of the porch railing and onto the ground, he turned around at his mother's gasp of concern. "See you do care, Mom."

"Boy you better not do that again."

"Yes mom." he said before picking up his basketball and heading towards the court. Once he was fully into his practice, Lillian turned her attention to Taylor who was looking at her expectedly.

"What did you want to talk to me about Ms. Lillian?"

"Oh I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to help me plan Troy's birthday party," Lillian said keeping her voice down just a bit in case Troy overheard them talking. "It's going to be his first birthday without his father and I want him to have a good birthday."

"I've love to help Lillian." Taylor stated truthfully as she looked at the woman. "I really would just tell me what to do and I'll do it." Lillian graced her with a small smile as she looked over at Taylor before nodding her head.

"Thank you, Taylor. I really want to make this special for him."

"I'm sure he'll like whatever it is you come up with." Taylor said with a bright smile, Lillian nodded her head and then reached out for Taylor's hand.

"Good, I'm glad we got that out of the way. Now I wanna know what's been making you look so down lately," At Taylor's shocked expression, Lillian released a soft chuckle and shook her head. "I've seen you sometimes when you think no one is looking, you look absolutely sick to your stomach."

"I've just been thinking about something."

"Like what?"

"It's not important." Taylor said with a shake of her head as she looked back down at her English book, Lillian sighed at that and shook her head.

"You're important to me, Taylor and that makes whatever is bothering you important." Taylor met Lillian's gaze and then looked over towards Troy.

"I'm worried about him." she admitted softly as she looked at the woman. Lillian's mouth dropped open in shock for a moment before shaking her head.

"Why are you worried about Troy?"

"He's gonna be driving soon." Taylor murmured as she looked back over at Lillian. "And I don't want him to start driving." Lillian Bolton was quiet for a few moments as she looked between her son and his girlfriend. She knew about Taylor's past and especially about how she had lost her father. She had been shocked to learn that Troy and Taylor had lost their fathers in such a similar way.

"Sweetie, I know you're worried."

"I'm terrified." Taylor corrected as she looked at the woman before her. "I'm terrified that once he gets behind the wheel, he'll be-." Lillian placed a hand on her forearm and shook her head slowly as she took in her expression.

"He'll be fine. . .Wilson already called and told me that he would teach him how to drive." Taylor looked up at her then and slowly nodded her head.

"Wilson is a good driver."

"And it seems he already knew about the problem you might have with Troy driving or learning how to drive. . . he called me a couple of days ago." Lillian said with a ghost of a smile on her face. "So tell me how are you feeling about Troy learning how to drive."

"Less terrified." Taylor whispered as she looked over at Troy. "I trust Wilson when he drives and if Troy is gonna learn from him, he's gonna be safer than most out there." Taylor whispered, Lillian gave the girl a small smile.

"He's going to be fine, Taylor. Believe me, he'll be safe." Pushing back her chair, Lillian stood up from the table. Leaning down, she gave Taylor a quick kiss on the forehead. "I'll work on some type of overview for the party and then get back to you to see what you think."

"Okay Ms. Lillian." with that said, Lillian walked back into the house just as Troy stopping shooting.

"So what was that all about?"

"You heard your mother, this right here was a girl conversation. No boys allowed." Troy's mouth dropped open in shock at that while shaking his head.

"I can't believe you said that," he said as he placed a hand over his heart. "You wound me, Taylor. You wounded me bad." She rolled her eyes at his antics and just shook her head while looking at him. Smiling, he walked up the porch steps and made his way towards her. "You better apologize with a kiss before I hug you."

"But you're all sweaty and-." He sent her a wink and nodded his head.

"Oh I know. . .and I'm coming for you." he said with a large grin as he made his way towards her. Taylor jumped from the chair as Troy neared her. "All you gotta do is give me a kiss."

"See this right here is why your mother is always checking up on us. You can never behave."

"You make it so hard baby."

"Oh my goodness, just get over here you big baby." Troy laughed and walked over to Taylor and pulled her into a quick kiss. She smiled at him and pushed back into her while rubbing her hands over his chest.

"You like that huh?" he asked as he watched her rub her hands over his chest one more time before dropping her hands and stepping back.

"You are so cocky."

"I guess but I like to consider it being confident." he said with wink. "Now do you want to tell me what you and my mom were talking about."

"Nope!" she said as she turned and headed towards the backdoor. "Don't stay out here to long, Troy it's getting a little hot. Troy just smiled and watched as she disappeared into the house. Turning back around, he looked at the court and shrugged his shoulders. He still had some things to go over before he called it quits for the day.

"So man you ready for our first game?" Chad asked as he, Troy and Zeke made their way towards the gym for their afternoon practice. Troy looked over at his friends for a moment and nodded his head, ever since he had rejoined the team all he thought about was getting back on the court and doing his father proud, that was basically all he thought about when he had a basketball in his hands. Doing his father proud since he would be playing beneath his father's retired jersey.

"Yeah I'm ready for it, but do you think Coach Woodson is gonna play us?" he asked as they stepped into the gym. They all knew they were early so they didn't try to lower their voices as they made their way towards the locker room.

"Well he's gonna play you," Chad said with a shake of his head as Troy sent him a disbelieving look, "What you know I'm right, man you're even better than you were last year. You're sick man absolutely sick on the court." Chad said with a shake of his head as Zeke just nodded his head in agreement while holding the door open to the locker room. "So of course he's gonna play you, we all want to win and I think it's become quite clear that in order for that to happen you need to be on the floor man."

"Stop blowing my head up," Troy muttered, "The Seniors are all gonna start."

"On Senior Night." Chad said with a laugh as he shook his head while looking at his friend. "You're skill set is raw and pure talent man, I know Coach Woodson is gonna start you." Troy waved him off and walked over to his locker. Zeke noticed that something was bothering Troy, so he silently sent Chad a look that plainly told the curly headed boy to be quiet.

"So what's wrong with the you. . .you've been a little out of it ever since Taylor and the girls went off to music class." Troy settled down on the bench in front of his locker and released a deep sigh while looking at his friends.

"I'm just worried about Taylor."

"Why? Has her mother contacted her or something?" Chad asked, Troy gave him a look and shook his head.

"Of course she hasn't and my mother wouldn't just let that woman contact Taylor." he said with a shake of his head. "Besides that's not it, ever since you talked about me driving, Taylor's been looking at me like I'm gonna disappear one day." he said with a sigh.

"So she's worried about you driving?" Zeke asked, Troy looked up at him for a moment before shaking his head.

"She's worried about me dying while driving." he mumbled. "I already talked to Wilson and he told me he'd teach me and I agreed mostly because I knew, that if Wilson taught me that it would at least put some of her worry to rest."

"So that's what's been bothering you."

"Yeah, I want to put Taylor at ease. I don't want her thinking that something gonna happen to me when I'm doing everything in my power to make sure that never happens." he said with a small sigh, Chad and Zeke nodded their heads at that.

"So are you still going drive?"

"You know I thought about not doing it but Wilson told me that he wanted Taylor to get over her fears. It tears him up when he sees her struggling in the backseat, he said that I'm probably the only person that could help her get through this. He told me he's never seen Taylor so calm as when I'm riding in the backseat with her so now all I have to do is get her to ride in the front seat with me."

"Well I wish you luck with that." Zeke said as the door to the locker room opened and the older boys walked inside. Mark Hudson saw them and walked over to Troy and laid a heavy hand on the boy's shoulder.

"What's up man, you ready for Friday's game."

"Yeah I'm ready." Troy said as he looked up at the older boy, some of the guys in the back chuckled and nodded their heads.

"You better be ready word is Coach is gonna start you at point." one of their teammates said. "So we expect you to play like you've been in practice."

"Yeah I'm ready for you to embarrass the hell out of the other team," Mark said with a smirk. "You're gonna cut their defense right up." Troy nodded his head as the rest of their teammates headed towards their lockers to get ready for practice. Troy, Chad and Zeke were the first to change so they headed out to the court where Coach Woodson was setting things up. When Coach Woodson saw them, he motioned for his assistant Coach to continue and walked over to Troy.

"Bolton let me talk to you for a minute." he said as he lead him over to the side. "Now I know some of the players are talking but I wanted you to know that I'm starting you this Friday." Troy crossed his arms over his chest.

"Thanks man but I have to ask are you sure cause Jason is-."

"He's pretty good, yeah I know that but you're better and that's why you're getting the start." Coach Woodson said with a small smile. "You certainly made up for missing the conditioning practices and you're great at point so I don't see any problem with what I'm suggesting unless you do."

"I don't see anything wrong with that, Coach Woodson." Coach Woodson smiled and nodded his head.

"That's good, will your mother and girlfriend be in attendance Friday night."

"Of course, they wouldn't miss it." Troy said with a bright smile as he looked up at Coach Woodson. "I told you that they were going to support me and they are."

"That's good to know, now get ready for practice." Troy nodded his head and ran back over to where Chad and Zeke were and began practicing his jump shot.

Taylor tapped her hand on the edge of the piano as she listened to Ryan play the beginning notes of the music she had just written down. "This is really nice, Tay." Sharpay said as she listened to her brother play. "When did you come up with this one?"

"A couple of weeks ago."

"You mean Troy left you alone, long enough for you to come up with some sheet music." Gabrielle said as she walked up and gave Taylor a slight hip bump. Sighing, she gave her friend a look and rolled her eyes.

"We aren't that bad." she said but noticed the looks that Sharpay and Gabrielle were sending her way. "Well we aren't."

"You really are. . .though I wouldn't say the word to use is awful, you guys are just sickeningly cute." Sharpay said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Besides how many times are you gonna tell us about his mother catching you guys plus let us not forget Troy's "workout." Ryan smiled at this and stopped playing.

"What is this 'workout,' my sister is talking about sounds kinky."

"Ugh! I swear you guys are the worst." Taylor said as she felt her cheeks heating up from embarrassment.

"We're just here to keep you honest." Sharpay said. "I mean can you seriously look us all in the face and tell us that you and Troy aren't sickeningly sweet." At Taylor's silence, Sharpay just smiled and shook her head. "So what are you getting your boy-toy for his birthday."

"Well me and his mother are coming up with a party but um I'm still at a lost over what to get him for his birthday. I've been looking for a lot of things and I know he doesn't really care for material things. . .so I want to do something sentimental for him. Something that will mean something to him."

"Well it sounds like you're going in the right direction." Gabrielle said, while Taylor just nodded her head.

"I've been thinking about doing something but I'm really gonna need his mother's help if I want to pull it off."

"Like Mrs. Bolton wouldn't help you." Sharpay said as she placed a hand on her friend's arm. "You might as well just tell her so you two can get it done cause I'm sure whatever it's you're thinking about doing for Troy's birthday. . .he's gonna love it."


	15. Chapter 15

I don't own anything.

A/N: First off I want to thank my reviewers from last time; chaylorXtraylorlover, Traylorx3, LadiiBabiiRocRoyalty990, PerfectLover and mestinylover. Thank you and I hope everyone enjoys this new chapter and please don't forget to Review.

Baby S

Chapter Fifteen

"You got any idea what Taylor and your mom are planning for your birthday?" Chad asked Troy as they exited basketball practice Wednesday afternoon. Troy slung his bag over his shoulder and shrugged. "What aren't you even curious?"

"Of course I am but my mom has gotten Taylor wrapped around her finger, she won't tell me anything and this Saturday is my birthday party." he stated. "I doubt I'll be able to get information out of Taylor by then. She takes her promises very seriously so I doubt she'll talk." Chad laughed at that and shook his head.

"Oh come on man, I know you can make her talk. . .you have ways." Troy scoffed at Chad and shook his head in mock horror.

"Chad are you really suggesting that I seduce the answer out of Taylor," he said as he laid a hand on his chest while looking at his friend in horror. "I promised myself that I would never use my kisses for evil."

"Really man are you serious right now?" Chad said with a laugh while shaking his head. "I know you're curious."

"I am, which was why I was planning on questioning Taylor later on this afternoon once I got home."

"What she's not here waiting for you?"

"Nope, she went home after school. . .probably to do something with my mother about my birthday party. My practices give them time to get things together," he rubbed a hand over the bottom of his chin. "I wonder what they're getting me for my birthday."

"Well be on the outlook for things that will probably take you right off the trail man." Chad as they walked into the hallway, Troy saw Wilson standing in the hallway waiting on him. "I guess I'll be seeing you around man peace." Chad said as he patted him on the back and took off in the opposite direction.

"Hey Wilson?"

"Hello Troy, how was practice?" he asked as he reached out for his bag, but Troy just waved him off. "In case you're wondering, Taylor sent me back to pick you up since she left without you this afternoon."

"How was she during the ride?" Troy asked in concern as he looked at the older man. Wilson gave him a look and sighed.

"She was better than she's been in the past but you know how she is when she rides by herself." he said softly as he looked at Troy who just shook his head and sighed inwardly.

"I wonder what's she's gonna do when I start driving." he mumbled as they headed outside towards the limo that Wilson always drove.

"I'm not sure but I'm sure she'll make the necessary adjustments." Wilson mumbled as he walked beside the boy. "Are happy about your birthday coming up?"

"As happy as I can be, Wilson. This is gonna be the first birthday I'll have without my father but I think my mom and Taylor will help me through that. I didn't get to drive so much last year with the permit because of what happened but I'm really excited about getting car." he grinned and looked up at Wilson. "If that's what I'm getting."

"Oh no you won't sucker me into telling you what they got you for a gift, Troy." Wilson said with a chuckle as he shook his head at the boy. Troy just laughed and shrugged his shoulders as he looked at the older man.

"Well it was worth a try."

"I suppose." Wilson said as he held the door open for Troy to climb into the car. Once Troy was in the back, Wilson got into the front and pulled off and headed towards the Bolton household.

Taylor and Lillian watched as the men outside in the backyard, Taylor glanced down at her watch and then tapped Lillian on the forearm. "Troy should be home soon." Lillian stood up from the patio table and cleared her throat. "The birthday boy should be home soon, can you guys finish up please." The man in charge looked over at them and nodded.

"We were packing up for the afternoon anyway." he said with a wink. He motioned for his men to put things up. Lillian smiled and turned towards Taylor who was releasing a sigh at his words.

"Good cause Wilson should be dropping Troy off soon." As soon as the words left her mouth Troy strolled out into the backyard calling out her name and his mother's. Thankfully the men had covered up what they had been working on so he didn't see anything.

Troy stepped out onto the patio and paused at the large white sheet he saw covering his basketball court, he looked over at his mother who was talking to the painter and then over at Taylor who was silently standing off to the side. "Um Mom. . .Taylor, what's going on with the court?" he asked as he stepped down into the yard and gave the court his father had made for him one last look. Taylor quickly excused herself from the conversation and walked over to him.

"Hey baby."

"Oh no, Taylor Anne McKessie, you won't be distracting me with sweet words, what's going on with my court." he said as he lifted a hand and pointed it in the court's direction. Taylor turned and followed his finger and sighed.

"Your mom's having it re-painted. . .surprise you found out about one of your birthday gifts." she said with a smile as she encircled her arms around his waist. Troy wrapped his arms around her in response and sighed as he looked over at his mother who was walking back towards after saying good-bye to the painter.

"Mom you didn't have to re-paint the court."

"Oh yes I did, your father would want me to make that the court is kept up and I plan to do just that sweetie." Troy sighed and looked back at the court, he loved practicing at home mainly because there weren't the same distractions here like the ones he would find at the park. Meaning, he would probably get pulled into a pick-up game or two.

"Alright Mom, but how long do you think they're gonna take?" he asked, Lillian looked back at the court as if it would have a time displayed on it and then back towards her son.

"Well the man said they should be done on Friday. . .right before your birthday." Troy nodded his head and shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess I can take it easy for one week," he murmured as he looked down at Taylor who was still resting comfortably in his arms. Smiling, he brushed a kiss on her forehead and spoke. "I wonder what you and I can get up to with all the free time I'm gonna have this week." Lillian cleared her throat and popped Troy upside the head.

"Everything you two are gonna get up too will be PG or else." she said as menacingly as she could as she looked at her son who just smiled at her warning. Taylor stepped out of his arms and turned to look at Lillian.

"Don't worry I'll keep him in line, Ms. Lillian. I promise."

"Good," Lillian said as she fixed her son with another look. "Now I'm gonna go ahead inside and start dinner okay."

"Okay Mom." Troy said with a smile, he waited till his mother had walked into the house before looking down at Taylor and wiggling his eyebrows at her. "So what do you want to do for the rest of the afternoon?" Taylor pulled away from him but Troy caught her arms and pulled her back towards his body. "You know I was thinking maybe you could tell me what you and my mom have planned for my birthday." Taylor screwed up her face in confusion as she looked up at him.

"Your birthday. . . we don't have anything planned."

"Yeah right. I know you guys have something planned. I know about the party-."

"That's it. . .the party." he shook his head at that and bent down as he could kiss her cheek before moving over to her ear and whispering.

"I know you have something else beside the party, you know like presents so tell me what is it?" Taylor shuddered as he planted a kiss just below her ear. Jumping back a bit, she looked up at him and shook her head.

"Oh you aren't gonna make me tell you, Troy." He grinned down at her then and shook his head for a moment.

"Oh come on baby, I'll still act like I'm surprised. I promise." he pleaded as the backdoor to the house opened and Lillian poked her head out.

"Leave her alone, Troy. I know exactly what you're up too." Taylor sighed at the pout that immediately appeared on his face. Reaching up a hand, she soothingly rubbed his cheek and Troy could tell that she was already breaking down and it seemed that his mother could tell as well. "Taylor don't you dare tell him about his birthday presents no matter what." Lillian said as she looked at the young girl that was about to break down just cause of the pout on her son's face. Taylor lowered her hand and stepped away from Troy and looked over at Lillian.

"Don't worry Ms. Lillian. . .I won't." Troy crossed his arms over chest as he looked between his mother and girlfriend. He grinned at his mother and pointed towards himself.

"I wouldn't be to sure about that. I do have my ways."

"You're all talk, Troy. Nothing but talk." Lillian said with a shake of her head as she disappeared back into the house. Taylor turned back around and looked at him and then started making her way towards the house as well. She didn't trust the devious look on Troy's face at all.

Later on the night, Taylor was in her room going over some of her homework when Troy came in. She looked up from her computer and frowned at him. "You know your mother doesn't like you sneaking into my room."

"I know but we didn't get to finish our conversation from earlier." he said as he stalked towards her. Taylor jumped out of the chair and backpedaled towards her bed as Troy advanced on her.

"I'm not going to tell you anything." she said as she looked at him. Troy just shrugged his shoulders at that and sighed.

"I guess." he whispered before he jumped across the room and caught her. He immediately began tickling her as she remained in his arms. He smiled as she started laughing and trying to get away. Troy couldn't help but laugh as well.

"All you have to do is tell me about one birthday present is and I promise I'll let you go." he said with a chuckle as he watched her struggling against his hold while laughing her heart out. He had to admit he loved to hear Taylor laugh so he didn't feel back using this tactic.

"No I'm never gonna tell you, you might as well just wait till Saturday." Taylor gasped out between laughs, Troy shook his head as he continued to attack her sides. "Tr-Troy please." she cried out around another bout of laughter.

"Nope not until you tell me something."

"Okay. . .okay, your mom and I-."

"Taylor!" They both froze and looked over towards the door where Lillian stood with her arms cross over her chest. "I can't believe you were gonna tell him." Taylor wiggled out of Troy's embrace and rushed over to Lillian.

"I had to do something, he was tickling me." she pointed out as she looked at the older woman, Lillian gasped at that and placed her hands on her hips while staring down her son who was still sitting on Taylor's bed trying to look as innocent as he could.

"Troy! I can't believe you would attack your girlfriend like that." she said as she shook her head at him. Troy sighed and looked over at Taylor and then back at his mother.

"I told you I had my ways and I'm gonna figure things out before Saturday."

"This is exactly why we could never get him to believe in Santa. He'd hunt down all his toys before Christmas." Lillian said with a shake of her head. "That's not gonna work this time, though. You are gonna leave poor sweet Taylor alone and wait till your birthday."

"I don't know about that." Lillian gave him a look and he sighed. "Fine I'll leave her alone." He smirked as Taylor visibly relax but froze back up as Lillian turned her attention on the girl. "And don't you let him pressure you into telling," she reached down for Taylor's arms. "We have to remain strong alright."

"Oh come on this is too much." Troy murmured as he looked at them both. "It's not even that serious."

"Oh yes it is. . .besides if that was the case you wouldn't in here messing with poor Taylor about your presents now would you." Troy released a huff as he watched Taylor play the part. Shaking his head, he made his way towards the door.

"Fine I'll leave her alone for tonight."

"It doesn't matter when you do it. . .she won't tell you cause Taylor is a strong girl, there's nothing you could say or do that would break her down." Troy just nodded his head and shuffled by them. Oh he would figure things out long before Saturday, he just had to make sure his mother wasn't around to protect Taylor.

Unfortunately, that never came to past. He could never try to question her at school because Sharpay and Gabrielle seemed to be in on helping Taylor stay away from him and his questions about his birthday and when they were at home, Taylor spent all of her time with his mother. He hardly ever got to see her and when he did they were rarely ever home alone. She he was a little surprise to see her in his bedroom Friday night at eleven fifty. "What are you doing here? My mom will kill us both if she catches you here."

"Your mom sent me up here." she whispered as she looked at him. "Come on. . .it's almost time for your first birthday present and I know you've been looking for presents." He gave her a look before quickly got out of bed, his mind going to a car he could be getting or well anything but what he wasn't expecting was for Taylor to take him to the backyard to show him the basketball court that his mother had gotten re-painted. Troy saw his mother turning on the flood lights and moving towards the white sheet that covered the entire court.

"Mom. . .Taylor, I already know about this being repainted did you guys forget that you already," Lillian pulled up the sheet and his mouth dropped open in shock. "Oh my God." he whispered as he looked at the small half-court. Taylor stayed by his side holding his hand as he slowly made his way down to the patio stairs towards the court. Lillian watched with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes.

"Do you like it?" Lillian asked him softly.

"Like it. . .I-I love it Mom." he said softly as he took in the entire picture that had been painted on the court. There was a picture of his father in his wildcat uniform and then one of him this year and then in the center was a picture of him and his father playing basketball out here after his father had put the court together. "How in the world did you do this?" he asked as he reached down and touched the court in awe. Lifting his head back up, he looked at Taylor and his mother. "How did you guys do this?" he whispered.

"My father knew this really good painter and I asked him if he could do this after I got permission from your mother. . . it's our gift to you on your birthday. Whenever you practice here just know that your father is here and that he's so proud of you and-." Taylor's speech was cut off by Troy pulled her into a quick passionate kiss that left her breathless.

"Thank you so much for this." he said as he brushed a hand across her cheek. "Thank you so much." He lifted his head up and looked over at his mother and waved her over and pulled her into a hug as well. "Thank you Mom."

"You're welcome sweetie and like Taylor said whenever you're out here just remember that your father is proud of you and he'll always be with you." Troy nodded his head and reached out for Taylor who was standing to the side silently watching the scene. Pulling her into the hug, he kissed his mother on the cheek and then kissed Taylor on the forehead.

"Thank you guys so much."


	16. Chapter 16

I don't own anything.

**A/N: It's time for another update but first off I want to thank my reviewers from last time; NaeNae1495, traylorlove, LadiiBabiiRocRoyalty990, chaylorXtraylorlover, Mestinylove and 5k. I hope everyone likes this new update and please remember to Review.**

**Baby S**

Chapter Sixteen

Troy had been on a natural high, since his birthday. He loved the gift that his mother and Taylor had put together for him. It was so much better than the car, his mother had showed him during the party. If there was any doubt in his mind in regards to his feelings for Taylor Anne McKessie, which there really wasn't, he was pretty sure that he loved everything about her even more now. Which was why he was going to do everything in his power to help her get over her fear of him driving and of every other thing that made her uneasy with him about to get his license.

Troy slowly crept up to Taylor's room and pushed the door opened, stepping inside, he looked her over and then made his way towards the bed and sat down on the edge. "Taylor!" he called out excitedly as he reached and gave her a small shake. "Get up baby you're going driving with me." As soon as the words left his mouth, Taylor opened her eyes and frowned.

"You can't-."

"Why not? Wilson told me he'd help me with driving and everything so I can get my license and I need you there cause you're my good luck charm." he stated firmly as he bent down and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "I thought you knew that."

"I do. . .but you're gonna have to forgive me for being so confused right now. Why are you in my room this early in the morning are you trying to get us killed." Taylor asked as she covered her mouth and released a soft yawn. "Cause that's what your mother is going do. . .kill us, once she figures out where you are this morning."

"I asked her if I could wake you up. . .so I'm sure she'll be making her way up here if things go longer than necessary." he said wiggling his eyebrows. "Now normally I would play with that lotted time but I want you up so you can come with me when Wilson gets here."

"I don't know about that, Troy."

"You're my good luck charm, baby." Troy said as he started pouting, Taylor gave him a look before rolling her eyes.

"You just turned sixteen and you're in here pouting the day after."

"You say that as if it's a bad thing. I think if you can still pull off the pout with the desired effects then you shouldn't stop using it no matter your age." he said right before he stuck out his bottom lip even more. Taylor rolled her eyes at him and pushed herself up.

"Fine but I. . .I seat in the backseat."

"Good I can look at you through the rearview mirror."

"No!" Taylor exclaimed loudly before sighing. "No you should do that. . .you should focus on the road. If I'm just gonna be a distraction then I'll stay here." Troy gave her a small smile and nodded his head, he knew had gone a little overboard when he had said that but he couldn't resist. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he slowly nodded his head.

"Don't worry. . .I'll focus on the road, so are you coming with me."

"Yes. I guess I can come with you." Taylor whispered as she looked up at him. Troy smiled at that just as his mother's voice called out for him.

"I guess that means my time is up," he bent down and gave her a quick kiss. I'll see you downstairs, baby." he whispered before getting up and exiting the room. Taylor watched him until the door closed and then slowly climbed out of bed. She couldn't believe that Troy was actually going to go ahead and learn how to drive. She couldn't even fathom getting behind the steering wheel of any motor vehicle. If she even attempted to do so all she'd be able to see was her father hanging upside in that horrible accident telling her that everything would be okay when in reality nothing would ever be okay again. She had watched her father die that night and had cried for hours until Wilson and the police had finally found them in the ditch with the car turned upside down. She would never forget the way her father's eyes dimmed as he told her he loved her for the final time. She hated cars because they took her father away and she didn't want to same thing to happen to Troy. Pushing her dark thoughts out of her mind, she slowly got out of bed and headed towards her bathroom so she could get ready.

Troy sat downstairs on the love seat beside his mother while Wilson sat on the easy chair facing them. "What's taking her so long?"

"You do know that despite whatever it is that she told you, she really doesn't want to do this." Wilson said seriously as he gave the younger boy a look. "She really doesn't want any of this. You do know that don't you."

"I just want to help her get over her fear. She shouldn't be scared about me driving or about learning to drive."

"You do know about her father." Troy gulped and nodded his head. Taylor had told him about her last night with her father and how he had died right in front of her.

"Yeah I know and I want to help her with that. . .she shouldn't worry about me out there. I'm going to be totally safe," he paused for a moment and shared a look with his mother. "Besides she's not the only one who lost a father due to a car accident so you don't have to worry about me being insensitive."

"I know that already, Troy. What I mean to say is that she was right there in that car with him for a little over an hour with his dead body. Cars are not the best places for her to be." Wilson stated softly. "Don't worry though, I'm sure with you there she'll be calmer then normal."

"You think so?"

"I know so. . .she's never been quite calm when I just drove her around and she trusts me but with you there's something different and I just think maybe you're the right person to help her get over her fear and for that I'm thankful for that."

"So am I." Troy said quickly as they heard Taylor's door slamming upstairs, lifting his head up. He watched as his girlfriend slowly walked down the stairs as if she were headed to her very own funeral. Standing up, he walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. "You ready?" She gulped but nodded her head as she looked up at him.

"I guess I'm ready." Troy smiled and kissed her forehead while looking over at Wilson who was now standing up from his chair.

"I think that means we're ready to start with Troy's lessons," he said as he looked over at Lillian. "We'll be seeing you later on tonight."

"Good will you be staying for dinner?" Lillian asked as she stood up from her chair and looked at the man before her that was about to think her son how to drive. Wilson looked over at Troy and Taylor and then back at Lillian.

"I'll have to call my wife and let her know but I don't see the problem." he said as he walked over to Taylor and placed a hand on her back while looking over at Troy. "Now I think we better get going I know the perfect place for you to start driving before we move on to the road." Troy just nodded his head while taking another look towards Taylor who looked as if she were about to flee at any moment. Reaching out for her hand, he grabbed hold of it and sent her a quick smile.

"Sounds good, come on baby let's go." He said as they quickly headed out of the house, part of the reason why was because he didn't want Taylor to change her mind and go rushing back upstairs to her room. He knew this was scary for her and he knew the hardest part would be getting her to go out of the house.

"Okay but I get to sit in the back."

"I know. . .I know and I'll sit back there with you until we get to wherever it is that Wilson is taking us." he said with a wink as he opened the front door and allowed her to go outside first. "Bye Mom."

"Bye." she said as she watched them from the living room. Wilson gave her a quick wave and then closed the door. Clasping his hands together, he looked at the two teenagers and gave them both a small sigh.

"Alright so are you two ready to go?"

"Yeah." Wilson nodded his head and then motioned towards the car. Troy quickly walked ahead of them and opened the door for Taylor who reluctantly slipped inside. Once she was all the way inside he closed the door and stepped back only to ran into Wilson's chest. He looked up at the older man who was staring down at him.

"When we start the lesson. . .remember to take things easy with the car. We don't want to scare her off after the first day okay." Troy just nodded his head as he looked at Wilson.

"No problem, I can do that." he stated easily as he moved away from Wilson. "No worries there, I don't want to upset her either."

"Good. . .come on let's get going." Troy nodded his head and rushed around the car so he could get in on the other side. Sliding into the backseat, he looked over at Taylor and gave her a quick smile as Wilson slowly made his way around the front of the car.

"What was Wilson taking about?" she asked softly as she looked over at him while fiddling with her seatbelt.

"He was just telling what he was going to teach me today. You know normal stuff." Taylor nodded and looked back down at her seatbelt.

"So how long are you gonna have to your learner's but you can drive."

"Well since I missed having it for a whole year due to my-." he trailed off not waiting to bring up his father's death. "Well I missed having it and now I have to have an allotted time of forty hours before I can get my license. No biggie. . .especially since Wilson is teaching me."

"Don't get cocky behind the wheel Troy."

"Wouldn't dream of it," he said as he looked over at her. "But there's nothing wrong with having some confidence and that's what I have." he reached out then and grabbed hold her hand and gave it and gentle squeeze.

"Don't worry so much. Everything is going to be fine, I promise." he whispered as he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Taylor smiled and kissed him back just has he hoped she would just was Wilson opened the car door and settled in behind the steering wheel.

"None of that now. . .this isn't a limo which means I have to actually see you two now and my eyes aren't ready for that." he said with a chuckle as he started the car. Troy just smiled and nodded his head while leaning back and pulling Taylor as close to him as possible as Wilson drove off. It barely took fifteen minutes before Wilson pulled into an old parking lot that had been changed into what Troy was sure was a standard driving test lot.

"Did you do this?"

"Naw. . .I had my sons do it while I commanded." he said with a smirk as he looked back at him. "Those boys do come in handy sometimes." he said with a chuckle as he turned off the car and turned his head so he could look back at them. "Now do you wanna come up here and get started." he asked his gaze shifting between Troy and Taylor.

"I guess I better go ahead and get started." Troy said as he slowly pulled his hand out of Taylor's death grip. Getting out of the car, he was surprised to see Taylor scrambling out as well. He closed his door while watching as she rushed around the back of the car and headed towards him. "Tay?"

"I don't want you to do this." she stated bluntly as she looked up at him. Troy's mouth dropped open as she reached out and latched onto both his hands. "I know I know. . .I thought I could handle it but I just don't think I-." Troy shook his head and cupped her face between his hands. The move made Taylor quiet as he lowered his forehead down towards hers and rested it there.

"You know what, Taylor. I think you can handle this. I understand that you're scared but you gotta trust me on this okay. You can handle this alright I know you can." he pressed a quick kiss to her lips and gave her a small smile. "You can do this baby. . .there's nothing to be afraid besides you told me Wilson was an excellent teacher and who better to learn from then him." he said as he pulled back and slipped his hands around her waist. Taylor nibbled on her bottom lip before looking back up at him. She slowly sighed and nodded her head.

"Good. . .now do you want to come up front with me."

"No. . .I'll stay in the back, besides Wilson had to make sure you're doing everything correctly." she whispered as she looked up at him. Troy could tell she was putting her 'brave face,' on and he was just happy he could calm her down. He had figured she might try to talk him out of this but he wasn't going to let that happen. Sighing, he nodded his head and gave her another quick kiss.

"Alright then. . . you better go on and get in the back cause Wilson is looking at us like time's wasting away." Troy stated, Taylor nodded and pulled him back down to her level. He gave her another kiss and then held the door open for her as she slipped into the backseat this time behind the driver's seat. Wilson chose that moment to get out of the car, he looked over at Troy for a moment and gave him a slight head nod before moving over to the passenger side. Troy was the last one to slip into the car and when he did, Wilson gave him a look.

"Are we all ready?"

"Ready." Troy and Taylor said at the same time. Troy looked into the rearview mirror and caught Taylor watching him. He gave her a quick wink and then started the engine. The car rumbled to life but Troy didn't make a move. "So what do you want me to do first?"

**A/N: I know this was short but I'm about to do some rapid posting of this story (I hope anyway) So I hope you liked it.**

**Baby S**


	17. Chapter 17

I don't own anything.

**A/N: Alright I know I'm about to start posting so first off I want to thank my reviewers from last time;_ chaylorXtraylorlover, ilovefics, PerfectLover, LunaSolTierra and MermaidRam85_. I hope everyone enjoys this new chapter and please Review.**

**Baby S**

Chapter Seventeen

That night after Troy's first driving session, Taylor discovered that she really couldn't sleep. It was too difficult, especially since her mind was constantly racing with thoughts and images of Troy getting hurt in a car accident. To put it as plainly as possible, she was worried about him. Tucking her pillow beneath her head, she saw at the wall in the darkness of her bedroom and tried to pull her mind away from the fear that starting to suffocate her. After a few more minutes of just resting on her bed, she kicked off her covers and crawled out of her bed. She quickly made her way out of her room and down the hall towards Troy's room. She paused outside his room for only a brief moment before pushing open the door. Slipping inside, she made her way over to Troy's bedside and looked him over. As soon as she decided that he was alright and that she might be able to rest easy, Troy opened his eyes and looked up at her. "Taylor?" he asked in confusion as he reached out and turned on his nightstand light. He blinked several times as his eyes adjusted to the light and then focused on Taylor who just stood at his bedside looking down at him. "This is quite a surprise. . .I never expected to find you sneaking into my room." he said with a soft chuckle as he looked up at her.

"I was just coming to check on you." she whispered softly as she looked down at him. Troy nodded his head, he knew why Taylor was here. She might have grown distance over the last few days but he knew his girl. Taylor was nervous about him driving, even after yesterday's successful driving lesson she still had looked nervous. He reached out for her hand and pulled her down on the bed so she was sitting on the edge. "I just needed to make sure you're okay." she stated softly as she placed her hand on his shoulder. Troy smiled and gave her a brief nod.

"I know you were worried, Taylor. I know this driving thing isn't what you want me to do but I really want too and nothing is going to happen to me."

"You can't promise me that," Taylor whispered with a shake of her head as she looked him. "You really can't promise me that and I. . .I won' be able to take it if you don't uphold that promise." Troy watched as she struggled to express herself to him. Taylor licked her lips slowly and looked down at her lap while Troy just watched her.

"Let me just figure this all out, you were worried so you couldn't sleep," he asked gently as he looked up at her. Taylor just nodded her head for a moment before whispering a request that Troy had been positive he wouldn't have heard until they were either Juniors or Seniors. "Excuse me?" he asked in surprise and he was sure it showed all over his face. Taylor's looked away from him for a moment before answering.

"Can I stay in here with you?" Troy didn't really response instead he moved over and held up his covers. He gave Taylor a small smile as she quickly scrambled into the bed and snuggled into his side, Troy draped his arm around her and pulled her close as Taylor laid her head on his chest.

"You don't drool do you?" he asked playfully trying to lighten up the mood. Taylor pushed herself up a bit so she could look him in the face. At the look on her face, he could only smile and tilt his head back and chuckle. "Oh don't give me that look." he said laughing a little as she lightly smack him on the chest.

"You are so bad." she whispered as she snuggled back into his arms. Troy just smiled at that and nodded his head.

"I guess I'm gonna have to agree with you about that cause once my mother realizes what happens she's gonna blame me for this little midnight meeting. Not that I care mind you," he murmured softly. "Cause I got to spend the whole night with you in my arms." Taylor smiled at his words and nodded her head.

"You won't have to worry about your mother cause I'm gonna take full blame for this after all I'm not as innocent as I look." she said with a wink as she looked over at him. Troy chuckled then and pulled her towards him.

"Oh I know that." he said with a small smile as he gave her a look. "That's one of the reasons I love you so much." he said then paused and closed his eyes. He hadn't really meant to let that slip, Taylor lifted her head off his chest yet again and gave him a look. Troy slowly met her gaze and Taylor smiled and tapped her fingers on his chest.

"Funny, I love you too. Who would have imagined?" she drawled out playfully. Troy relaxed and circled his arms around her waist. He looked over at the nightstand and saw that it was slowly approaching one-thirty.

"I'm gonna be so tired in the morning." he murmured softly as he looked up into her eyes. "But I think tonight is making it worthwhile."

"And it should." she said with a bright smile as she looked up at him. "Cause it was totally worth it to me." Troy nodded his head and laid his head back on his pillow and closed his eyes. He carefully reached out and turned off the lamp and plunged the room into darkness. They both laid there silently for a moment before Troy spoke up again. "I know you told me not to make promises I couldn't keep but I promise you that nothing is gonna happen to me."

"I just worry about you. . .I don't know what'd I do if I lost you." Taylor whispered back as she snuggled deeper into his embrace. "I guess I just don't want you taking chances."

"But that's all life is baby. . .chances."

"I know. . .I'm sorry if I haven't been supporting you like I should, I was just worried." Taylor whispered softly. Troy just gave her body a tight squeeze and kissed the top of her head.

"I know that's why you were distanced, Tay. But you're gonna have to help me understand just where you think you haven't been supporting me. . .you came up with the idea for my basketball court outside." he whispered softly. "I still remember when my Dad had that put in. It was like two days after I told him I wanted to play basketball. He went out and found someone to come in and put the court in the backyard." Troy chuckled slightly at the memory. "He was so excited about me following in his footsteps and playing basketball. You know sometimes when I'm out there before you and mom gave me by birthday present I felt weird being out there without him and you gave me that." he whispered softly. "You supported me when I told you I wanted to play basketball again. "You did all of that. . .and I know I couldn't have made it through my father's passing without you. You've supported me since the first day we met and then of course along the way-."

"I fell in love with you." she whispered finishing his statement. Troy smiled in the darkness at her words glad to hear her saying the words yet again.

"And I fell in love with you too." he whispered, "And you loving me and me loving you. . .well that's all the support I need."

They were awakened the next morning by a loud gasp, Troy opened his eyes and saw his mother standing in the doorway looking in on them in complete shock while holding onto the threshold as if her legs would give out at any moment. Troy felt Taylor stir in his arms but she didn't wake up. "Good morning, Mom. . .how are you doing?" Lillian Bolton looked at her son and then at Taylor and just shook her head. She should have known it would be difficult to keep them away from one another and she knew this time around that Taylor had made her way to Troy's room.

"Troy. . .I'm gonna go downstairs and get breakfast started," she paused and looked them over again before sighing. "I'm going to go ahead and assumed for my mind's sake that you and her only slept in here."

"No worries, mom. She was just worried about me." he said with a smirk as his mother just rolled her eyes and shook her head at the both of them. "She came in here to check on me," he paused and looked down at Taylor and brushed a hand over her hair. "I think she had a nightmare about something happening to me. I wasn't going to turn her away not when she was feeling like that." Lillian just nodded her head as she listened to her son.

"I believe you. . .just make sure you wake her up so she can get ready for school already. I'm a bit to surprise to be dealing with this." Troy just grinned as his mother walked away. Shaking his head, he rubbed a hand over the back of his neck.

"She's like two seconds away from banishing me to the apartment above the garage." he said shaking his head as he thought about what his mother must be downstairs thinking. Rubbing a hand over Bonnie's shoulder, he gently shook her awake. "Baby. . .Tay, it's time to get up baby." he murmured as he gave her a few more shakes. After a few minutes, Taylor groaned and lifted her head up and looked at him. Troy smiled down at her as she graced him with a new morning smile.

"Good morning."

"My mom said it's time for us to get up and get ready for school." he said calmly as he watched Taylor to see her reaction and he wasn't disappointed. Taylor gasped and covered her mouth in absolute surprise as she looked at him.

"Oh my God! Your mother saw!"

"And she was surprised but she just shook it off and went downstairs. Told me to wake you up so you can get dressed you know you don't want to be late for school." Taylor buried her face in her hands as Troy sat beside her silently chuckling. He didn't understand why she was so upset, all she did was sleep in the bed with him. It's not like they did anything fantastic. He smirked at his choice of words and was immediately hit by Taylor. "What did I do?"

"You had that devilish grin on your face. . .you were thinking naughty thoughts."

"Well when it comes to you. . .I mostly think nothing but naughty thoughts. . .it's a fault of mine I don't think I'm gonna be changing anytime soon." he said as he got out of bed and took off his night shirt. He caught Taylor eyeballing his well-sculpted chest and chuckled. "And judging by the look on your face you seem to have naughty thoughts about me as well."

"You need to stop picking on me, Troy." she said over a laugh while Troy just flexed and starting popping his chest. Taylor's eyes jumped at what he was doing and Troy could only laugh at her expression.

"That's right baby look at the muscle control."

"I'm leaving now." Taylor said with a laugh as she climbed off his bed and quickly exited the room. Troy just looked after her and yelled out.

"Remember I have a game this afternoon. . .it's the season opener." he shouted out after her. Taylor's voice almost immediately called back.

"Of course I didn't forget. . .I have a special outfit all picked out for the occasion." Troy's interest grew at that statement. "And no you can't see it until the game." Taylor yelled out as if reading his mind. Frowning, he playfully kicked his foot at the ground as he headed towards his bathroom.

"It's not like it's my birthday or something . . she can show me the surprise now." he pouted as he started getting ready for school. Nearly an hour later, both of them were downstairs at the kitchen table ready for breakfast. Lillian watched them silently before giving them a quick warning.

"It seems that I'm gonna have to keep an eye on the both you," she said as she fixed Taylor with a look and didn't stop until the young girl looked away from her. "I know you two love being around each other and that your connection is a little bit more serious than other teenagers, but seriously you two I'm gonna have to ask you two be a responsible if you're going to have slumber parties that I don't know about." Troy blushed as his mother continued talking, shaking his head, he looked over at Taylor and saw that she was uncomfortable as well.

"I'm sorry Ms. Lillian." Taylor said softly as she looked at Troy's mother. "I was just. . .I was just worried about Troy and I wanted to see him and make sure that he was okay."

"I know. . .Troy told me you had a nightmare." Lillian said gently. "I'm not angry, I'm just telling you two to be careful and responsible. I can't police you two all the time it's just not possible so I'm just gonna have to trust the two of you to do the responsible thing."

"Don't worry Mom, I promise you don't have to worry about that." Lillian gave her a son a bright smile and then looked down at the table. She had certainly prepared a big meal.

"Good, I'm glad we're done with that conversation. . .now how about you two dig in cause I think I overdid it." Taylor chuckled at that and shook her head as she looked over at Troy who was licking his chops like the big bad wolf.

"I don't think you have to worry about that, Ms. Lillian. Troy looks like he can eat this entire meal by himself." Troy shot her a look and then picked up four pancakes and pilled them onto his plate.

"I'm a growing teenage boy, Tay. I need my food." he said before almost drowning his pancakes in syrup. He gave her a defiant look before digging in while she and his mother just laughed as he wolfed down his food. It was nearly time for Wilson to come by to pick them up to take them to school, Taylor walked over to Troy's side and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"So are you driving to school?"

"Yeah. . .me and Wilson talked about it briefly last night once we came by from the lesson. He says it's pretty much a straight shot so I should be fine." Taylor nodded her head and reached down for his hand.

"I wanna but up front with you." Troy's eyebrows almost hit his hairline as he turned to look at her in surprise.

"Are you serious?"

"Wilson will still be in the car right," she asked, Troy just nodded his head as he looked at her. "And I trust you. . .so yes, I'm serious. I want to ride in the passenger seat. Troy pulled her close and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Well alright then. . .I promise you won't regret this decision." he said with a bright smile as he looked down at her. Taylor looked back up at him and nodded her head, just as they heard Wilson pulling up outside the house.

"I know." she stated simply. "I trust you Troy, now let's go cause I really don't want to be late. I have a presentation to do with Sharpay and you know I need to be there to make sure she has her mind on the right thing." Troy grinned at that as he thought about Taylor's blonde-headed friend. The girl was certainly something else.

"Alright then I guess we better head on out," he turned and looked at his mother. "Well I guess I'll be seeing you tonight mom. . . .," he paused and looked back at Taylor. "Oh Mom by the way do you have any idea what Taylor's little surprise is suppose to be tonight." Lillian just shrugged her shoulders at her son and sent Taylor a wink. "Oh see now that is just wrong. Do you two ever feel bad about gaining up on me like this?"

"Nope." His mother and Taylor said in unison. "But if it's any consolation. . .you are gonna love this surprise I just know it." Taylor said as she pressed a quick kiss to his mouth and tugged him towards the door. "Come on show me what you got behind the wheel." Troy smiled at her excitement and allowed her to drag him outside to meet Wilson.


	18. Chapter 18

I don't own anything.

**A/N: Alright it's time for another update but first off I want to thank my reviewers;_ chaylorXtraylorlover, PerfectLover, and ilovefic_. Thank you guys so much and I hope everyone enjoys this new update and please remember to Review.**

**Baby S**

Chapter Eighteen

"You know you should really tell me what the surprise is?" Troy said as he sat down beside Taylor later on that day during lunch. Taylor just smiled as he moved closer to her and rested his head on her shoulder. Sharpay looked over at them from across the table and smiled at the couple.

"Oh a surprise!" she wiggled her eyebrows as she looked at Taylor who bowed her head and silently thanked God for her dark skin so no one would be able to see her blushing. "And what surprise would this be?"

"I'll tell you later when big head isn't here." Taylor said as she looked over at Troy who simply pouted and placed a hand to his head.

"I'm not big headed." he murmured, Taylor turned to him then and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Whatever you say, sweetie." Troy just glared at her as she pulled away and gave Sharpay a high-five. Chad Danforth and Zeke Baylor walked over as Sharpay and Taylor just laughed at the look of disapproval on Troy's face.

"What are you doing now?" Zeke asked as he placed a kiss on Sharpay's head and settled down in the seat beside her while Chad took his usual spot next to Troy. The only person missing from their little gang of friends was Gabrielle who had stayed behind to go over some things with Kelsi and Ryan back in the music room.

"Yeah what's all the laughter about?" Chad asked.

"Well, Taylor told me this morning that she had a surprise for me but she won't even give me a hint." he said as he looked back over at his girlfriend and pouted. Taylor rolled her eyes as did Sharpay who just shook her head at his antics.

"If she told you what it was then it wouldn't be a surprise, Troy."

"Just a hint? I wouldn't figure it out from a hint." Sharpay raised an eyebrow at that and looked back over at Taylor.

"I guess you can tell, I always thought Troy wasn't too bright."

"Hey! My man is smart." Taylor said as she leaned over and placed a quick kiss on Troy's cheek while he shot Sharpay a cocky look. Taylor pulled back from him and patted the cheek she had just kissed. "But no baby I will not be giving you a hint. You're just gonna have to wait till tonight." Chad coughed and leaned out over the table and nudged Troy.

"I bet the surprise hinging on if we win."

"No, Chad that doesn't make a different." Taylor said with a shake of her head as she looked at her boyfriend's friend. "He's gonna see it before the game."

"Don't distract him too much now. We're gonna need his head in the game." Chad said with a laugh while ducking Troy's hand.

"You are really not funny Chad." Troy said as he tried to smack him again. Ducking down and away, Chad quickly stood up and moved around the table towards Zeke. Once he sat down, he stuck his tongue out a Troy who merely rolled his eyes.

"Zeke can you help me out." Before Chad do anything, Zeke reached out and gave him a light smack on the head. "Thanks." Troy said as he turned his attention back to Taylor and gave her a quick look over.

"So Tay, baby my surprise is going to before the game huh?"

"That's the only hint you're gonna get." Taylor said with a small smile as she felt Troy's arm circle her waist.

"Not even another one?"

"Nope none. . .now you better stop asking before I decide to push it back and quite frankly I don't think that will work at all." she said with a small smile as she gave him a look. Troy nodded his head then and sighed.

"Fine I'll drop it cause I want my surprise." For the rest of the lunch period Taylor listened as Chad and Zeke talked with Troy about their season opener. Taylor could tell that tonight's game was going to be against a region rival and that they were some pretty hard characters.

"So have you beat them before?" she asked cutting into their conversation, Troy looked over at her and nodded his head.

"Yeah, we beat them before and they hated it."

"That's because you were playing and you killed. . .and I mean killed their shooting guard on both ends of the court. I bet Howard wants to redeem himself after last year's game." Chad said with a smirk as he looked at Troy who nodded his head.

"Well he can try to redeem himself but I've been training pretty hard and I don't think he's ready for me, is he baby." he asked looking back over at Taylor who smiled at his statement and nodded her head. Once lunch ended, Taylor and Sharpay ended off to their next class while the boys headed off to gym.

"So do you mind telling me what the surprise is?" Sharpay asked as they stopped at Taylor's locker.

"I don't know if I can trust you." Taylor said playfully, her answer only made Sharpay roll her eyes.

"I can't believe you just said that to me of course you can trust me," Sharpay said with a shake of her head before pausing, Taylor looked over at her in surprise for a moment before asking her friend what was wrong. "Nothing. . .I think I just realized just how deep you and Troy's relationship has gotten." Taylor furrowed her brow at that statement and looked

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't think I didn't see who drove you to school today." Sharpay said with a small smile. "You trust him and I think it's sweet, especially if he can help you get over your fear." Sharpay admitted seriously. Taylor stood there trying to figure out what she was going to say, after a few minutes she sighed and nodded her head.

"He's helping me Shar. . .he got me to ride in the first seat. I mean I was still nervous but having him there with me telling me that everything was going to be okay. It really helped me." she whispered as she remembered how he held her hand at every stop light just to give her some comfort because he could tell she was on edge.

"That's good. . .I know I pick on the guy but I really think he's good for you and you're good for him too. . .so tell me what is this little surprise all about cause I'm literally dying to know." Taylor raised an eyebrow at her statement while Sharpay just smiled and gave her a look. "What I am. . .you know I can't take my best friend having secrets."

"You're just nosey." Taylor said with a smile before shrugging her shoulders. "Alright I'll tell you but you have to promise me that you won't say a word."

"I promise girl now come on over here and tell me."

It was nearly an hour till the game and Troy found that he was on edge, in fact he wasn't even going out for the shoot around, inside he decided to stay in the locker and think over a few things. This would the first time he would be putting on a Wildcat uniform without his father on the sidelines in his business suit ready to lead them to victory. "Troy?" he looked up and saw Coach Woodson standing near the door looking in on him.

"Hey Coach what's up." Troy said as he stood up from the bench he was currently sitting on, Coach Woodson walked further into the locker room and looked him over before motioning for him to sit down. Once Troy was seated again, Coach Woodson settled down on the bench directly across from him and sighed.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm good. . .just trying to get mentally prepared for the game." Coach Woodson nodded his head at that and gave him a small smile.

"You're ready for the game, Troy. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind about that. I know you're slightly upset that your father isn't going to be here to see you play," he cautiously said as he looked up at him. Troy's mouth dropped open and closed several times before he shook his head at what Coach Woodson said.

"I don't know about-."

"It's fine you know. . .understandable, all I ask is that you play your heart out," Coach Woodson said cutting him off. "Your father may not be here," he said pointing down at the ground. "But he's with you in your heart where it counts and I know he's proud of you." Troy looked up at him then as Coach Woodson pushed himself up from the bench. "Stay in here as long as you need, get yourself together but just know that your father watching. I know Jack wouldn't miss a game." With that said, Coach Woodson walked out of the locker room leaving Troy to his thoughts.

Taylor sat in the bleachers with Gabrielle and Sharpay watching the players warm-up for the game, Gabrielle looked her outfit over and gave a small coy smile. "I think Troy's gonna like this outfit Tay."

"I hope so. . .this is the surprise."

"And it's a good one. I'm thinking about getting one for Zeke." Sharpay said, her eyes glued to her boyfriend as he performed a lay-up on the other side of the court.

"Thanks guys I just wonder where he is. . .I mean everyone else is out here."

"Maybe Coach Woodson is talking to him, you know giving him a pep-talk or something," Gabrielle said with a small smile as she looked back at Taylor. "Don't worry, he'll come out eventually. . .so is his mother coming."

"Yeah, she has a jersey as well. It's one where she did a mash-up of an old Wildcat jersey one his father used to wear and one of Troy's jersey. We have one for both the home and away games." she said with a smile. "It's really nice."

"Okay now I'm definitely gonna have to get me one." Sharpay said as she looked over at Taylor. "Maybe I can make mine into a jersey dress."

"Oh I don't know about that, Shar. You know the school doesn't like those especially after you nearly killed all the boys in the school last time." Gabrielle said. "Besides I don't think Zeke would be able to pay attention ever again in this life on or off the basketball court."

"You're right. . .I don't want to make my baby lose all his senses." Gabrielle and Taylor laughed out loud at that statement and leaned on each other for support as they tried to calm down. Neither of them noticed Mrs. Bolton making her way into the gym with several other parents that were there. "Hey Mrs. Bolton."

"Why hello ladies." Mrs. Bolton said as she tugged at her jersey for a moment before bending down to give Sharpay a hug before moving on to Gabrielle and then finally Taylor who she kissed on the cheek. "How do I look?"

"Fantastic Mrs. Bolton. . .did you bring the sign."

"Of course I did." she said with a small smile as she settled down beside the young girl she was secretly calling her daughter-in-law. Taylor smiled as she took the poster board from Mrs. Bolton and looked it over.

"This is nice."

"So where is he. . .has he seen you yet?"

"No. . .he's still in the locker room, oh look there he is." Taylor exclaimed as she looked out towards the court and saw Troy emerging from the locker room. She stood up and did a little cheer which immediately caught his attention. She saw his eyes going over her form rapidly as he slowly started to grin. She knew immediately that he liked what he saw, she quickly reached down and pulled up his mother who waved at her son from the stands. Troy graced them both with a large smile and waved back before jogging off towards the rest of his team.

"I guess we'll see how he really feels after the game huh." Taylor said with a smile as she watched Troy jog over to Zeke and Chad who were standing at the back of the lay-up line. Mrs. Bolton nodded her head and sat back down.

"Yes, and don't take it too hard sweetie. He just needs to focus on the game at hand but I can tell my son likes the surprise."

Troy walked over to the rest of the team with a smile on his face, so that was the surprise. Taylor was wearing his jersey. . .his home jersey and damn if she didn't look good in it. Zeke turned as he came up behind them. "Hey man glad you came out to the join us."

"Just needed to get my mind right." Troy said as he thought back over what Coach Woodson had told him in the locker room.

"Good, glad to hear that you're on board man. So did you see what your mom and Tay are rocking?" Zeke asked with a small grin on his face as he looked at his friend. Troy glanced back at the bleachers his eyes lingering on Taylor who was now talking to Sharpay and Gabrielle.

"Yeah, I saw. . .the number 14 looks good on her." he said with a smirk.

"I thought you'd say something like that." Zeke said as he patted him on the shoulder. "Come on let's win this game and start this season off right."

The season opening game ended with the Wildcats winning by a landslide, Troy had exploded out of the gate and ended the game with a triple double. Taylor could tell that he had single handedly dismantle the opposing team, they just couldn't find an answer for him. "He played so well." Lillian gushed from her side

"Yeah he really did." Taylor said as she saw Troy coming out of the locker room. She watched as he waved some of the players off and then walked over to them with a large smile on his face. He immediately wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close and sighed.

"You know I think this is a pretty good luck charm." he said as he fingered the jersey that was draped over her shoulder. Taylor just smile as he kissed her cheek and then looked over at his mother.

"You two need to stop surprising me cause I'm gonna get spoiled." he said as he hugged his mother tightly. "I think Dad would have loved this." he whispered in her ear softly. Lillian smiled at the words and nodded her head.

"I know sweetie." Troy just nodded and stepped back towards Taylor and circled an arm around her waist and pulled her close to his side. Taylor rested her head on his shoulder and sighed as they started walking out of the gym.

Later on the night, Troy made his way to Taylor's room and saw her sitting at her desk going over some last minute homework. He knocked on her door and waited till she looked up at him before stepping into the room. "Hey Troy." she said as a wide grin slowly went across her face. He gave her a small smile and walked over to her bed and sat down. "Baby what's wrong?" she asked as she noticed the look currently on his face. Troy just shook his head for a moment as he rubbed his hands over his jean covered thighs.

"Nothing. . .I'm just glad I did good tonight." Troy said softly as he looked over at her. "You have no idea how nervous I was out there. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to do my father proud and that. . .that terrified me."

"You'd make him proud even if you decided to never play basketball again." she admitted truthfully. "You're his son and you're a great person. Your father is proud of you and I'm certain that will never change, Troy." she said as she walked over to him. Troy reached out and pulled her down into his lap and held onto her tightly. Taylor rubbed her hands through his hair and sighed before leaning down and placing a kiss on his forehead. She felt Troy's arms tighten around her and she sighed. "I love you, Troy."

"I love you too Taylor."


	19. Chapter 19

**I don't own anything.**

**Sorry for the long delay. **

Chapter Nineteen

"Guess what I just got!" Troy stated as he leaned against Taylor's doorframe, she looked up from her computer and immediately smiled at him as he danced into the room waving a little card in the air. Crossing her arms over her chest, she studied him for a moment before saying.

"Um, I don't know a permission slip from your mom so that you can spend the night in my room." she asked with a small smile. Troy rolled his eyes at that and walked further into the room while slowly shaking his head.

"As much as you would like that, no that isn't what this is. This right here is my license baby." he said as he pumped his fist in the air. "And you know what that means. I get a car and you get to be the first lady of my ride."

"Sounds fun." Taylor said softly as she looked up at him for a moment. It had taken time but now she was very comfortable with riding in the car while Troy was driving. Walking further into the room, Troy sat down on the edge of her desk and looked at her.

"So where do you want to me take you first?" he asked with a bright smile on his face as he wiggling his eyebrows at her. Taylor blushed a bit underneath his stare and then graced him with a small smile. "Anyplace you wanna go just let me know and we'll head on out."

"Anyplace?" Taylor asked while tapping a finger along the bottom of her chin. "Geez, that gives me a lot of places to think about, does Albuquerque have a Chip'n Dales." Troy's mouth dropped open in shock at her question right before he rapidly started shaking his head.

"Taylor!" he exclaimed in shock as he looked down at her and rapidly shook his head from side to side. "I can't believe you just said that. "You have to be joking, wait I know. . .you've been spending to much time with Sharpay." he said. Taylor just laughed at his statement and reached out to place a hand on his knee.

"I'm just playing Troy. . .but seriously what do you want to do?"

"Entertain you." he answered right away with a quick smile. "As far as I'm concern there's absolutely nothing wrong with that." Taylor smiled at his answer as she slowly removed her hand from his leg.

"We could go and see a movie."

"Dinner and a movie." Troy added hopefully, he really wanted to take Taylor out for a night on the town. Even though, their town was small he still wanted to take her out where it could be just the two of them.

"That sounds fine. . .do you have practice though?" Taylor asked as she realized that it was Friday night. Troy shook his head and gave her a small smile.

"Naw, Coach gave us the night off. You know since playoffs are next weekend. He said we need a weekend to unwind and relax and I can't think of a better way to do that than to spend time with you." he proudly said as he looked at her.

"Well then I guess we can enjoy the night with dinner and a movie." Troy pumped his fist in the air and smiled down at her.

"You're gonna enjoy your night I promise baby. We are so gonna enjoy tonight."

"What should I wear?" Taylor asked as Troy hopped off her desk and made his way towards her bedroom door. He stopped at the question and turned around to look at her for a moment before smiling.

"Something nice which shouldn't be hard cause you alway look beautiful." he said with a wink as he slipped out of her room. Taylor smiled as he disappeared down the hall to his room. So tonight they were actually going to go on a date. Reaching out, she quickly grabbed her cell phone and dialed Sharpay's number.

"Hello?"

"Sharpay girl it's me Taylor." she listened for a moment as Sharpay shuffled around on the other edge.

"Yeah, what's up."

"Well Troy and I are going on a date tonight." Taylor exclaimed happily as she looked over at the door to make sure Troy was making his way back by her bedroom door. She could hear Sharpay cooing over the line.

"Ohh! And let me guess this going to be the first date where he's driving and you're okay with it." Sharpay asking knowing, Taylor picked at some imaginary string on her pants' leg and nodded her head. She trusted Troy with a lot of things and one of those things were her safety. She knew he wouldn't do anything to hurt her and she knew he wouldn't do anything outrageous in the car while she was riding with him.

"Oh I trust him." Taylor promised softly as she looked at the picture of her and Troy on her desk. "I just a little nervous is all. . .he told me to wear something nice but I-."

"Girl please, I know you're not about to doubt your looks. I know you aren't about to do that. I mean come on the man loves you to death and I know for a fact that he thinks you are beautiful. . .the most beautiful girl he has ever seen." Sharpay replied quickly hoping she could put her friends fears at ease.

"Aw! Thanks Sharpay."

"Please girl don't thank me for stating facts." she replied softly. "Now you go ahead and wear something amazing and knock his socks off and don't worry about anything else cause you'll be fine I promise."

"Thanks Shar." Sharpay laughed on the other end of the phone and Taylor could just imagine her shaking her head.

"That's what friends are for, Tay. To help you pick yourself up when you're doubting yourself." Sharpay stated firmly. "Now I think I need to get off the phone with you so you can ready for your date, but you be sure to call me and Gabby once you're done so we can hear you dish about your night out on the town with Troy Anthony Bolton." Taylor laughed at that statement, she should have known Sharpay wouldn't pass up the chance to hear some gossip even if it was from one of her best friends.

"Alright I'll make sure to call and dish."

"Good, now I'm gonna let you go. If you want my opinion on some outfits just pic-text me and I'll tell you which one I like."

"Okay thank you Shar."

"No problem, Taylor. Just have fun with lover-boy okay." Taylor giggled at the nickname that Sharpay had just made up for her boyfriend and nodded her head.

"Alright I'll have fun. . .although I don't think you need to tell me something like that." she said with a giggle.

"Good I've taught you well. Okay well I'm gonna let you go then."

"Bye." Taylor said as she hung up the phone and then sat it back down on her desk. She stared at her computer screen for a minute before getting up so she could get ready for a night on the town with her boyfriend.

Lillian Bolton walked downstairs and saw her son sitting on the sofa dressed rather nicely, leaning on the banister, she looked down at her and smiled. "And where are you off to this evening?" Troy looked up at his mother and blushed for a moment before smiling.

"Me and Taylor are going out on a date tonight. First day of me having my license and I wanted to celebrate accordingly." he said with a wink as he looked over at his mother. Lillian walked into the living room then and smiled down at him.

"That sounds fun. . .but you know what I expect." Troy just smiled and nodded his head as he looked over at his mother.

"Yeah mom, I know you want me to be on my best behavior but you know what maybe you need to talk to Taylor about that as well cause she's been looking at me in a certain way and-." He trailed off as Taylor made her way downstairs while shooting him a look that dared him to finish that statement. Glancing back over at his mother, he shook his head and sighed. "Nevermind-Taylor you look lovely." he said alerting his mother to his girlfriend's presence. Lillian turned around and smiled at Taylor as she slowly walked into the room. Troy and Lillian both took in her outfit. She was wearing a black skirt with a nice golden sweater that draped across her body and showed off her curves. Troy grinned at her and stood up from the sofa. "Like I said before, Tay you look lovely."

"You look great too, Troy." Taylor said blushing slightly because of the praise. Troy grinned at that while Lillian just silently looked between the two of them. She had to admit that they reminded her of when she and Jack were young. It seem that their son was following in his father's footsteps by finding a serious girlfriend while in high school.

"You both look great. . . now I don't want you all out all night okay. Make sure you come back at a decent time."

"We will Mom I promise." he said with a bright smile as he looked over at her and then made his way over to Taylor and quickly took her hand in his. He felt the smile widen on his face as she leaned into his side.

"Don't worry Ms. Lillian we'll be back well before curfew."

"Oh come Taylor don't tell her that. We could have made her sweat it out a bit before walking in that door a minute late." he said with a chuckle before dodging slightly so he could miss his mother's playful swipe at his forehead. Laughing, he stepped forward and gave his mother a quick kiss on the cheek. "See you later on tonight, Mom." Moving back he led Taylor out to his new car and helped her into the passenger seat before rushing around the driver's side and getting in. Settling down, he pulled on his seatbelt and then looked over at Taylor. Reaching out, he grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze before lifting it to his lips and giving it a light kiss. "You ready." Taylor just smiled and nodded her head as she moved over slightly and brushed a kiss against his lips.

"Yes I am." Troy smiled at that as he reluctantly let go of her hand. Turning on the car, he watched Taylor for any nervous reaction that she might have but so far she seemed quite relaxed. "So where are you going tonight."

"Well," Troy began as he pulled out of the driveway. "While you were upstairs changing I received a call from Sharpay who let me know that I was to bring you to her father's restaurant for dinner," he looked over at her and gave her a brief smile. "She told me that if I didn't I would have to answer to her and you know out of your two friends she's the scariest so we're headed there." he said playfully.

"That place is really expensive."

"Your friends and I want the best for you." he said calmly as he looked over at her and smiled. "You deserve it." Taylor blushed at the way he was looking at her. Troy didn't know how he made her literally melt when he gave her looks like that. She had to admit she never thought that someone like Troy would ever want to be with her. However, after she spent some time with him after he helped her escape her mother she found that she had been completely wrong. Troy was one of the best men she knew besides her father and Wilson and she found she was much happier with him in her life. Once they arrived at the restaurant named after Mr. Evans daughter, Sharpay. Troy found a smirk slowly making its way on his face as he took in the sign, moving around to Taylor's side he carefully helped her out of the car. "Come let's enjoy the night and then we're off to the movies." he said as he quickly led her inside the restaurant. As soon as they entered they were immediately given the V.I.P. treatment, which they were the order came from Sharpay.

"So have you ever been in here before?" Troy asked as he settled down in his chair after helping her into hers.

"No, I haven't been in here before. I've never had a real reason to be in here until tonight." Taylor replied as she sent Troy a bright smile which he returned. "I really want to thank you for doing this tonight."

"There's no other place I'd rather be right now than with you." he stated easily as he looked at her. Taylor smiled back but before she could reply the waiter came up asking them if they were ready to order.

The night for the most part was for the lack of a better word, magical. Troy was a gentleman through and through and he made the night so memorable and enjoyable. She had so much fun that she didn't even think about him driving or worrying about their safety. All she did was enjoy her time with her boyfriend. As they pulled up outside their home, Troy turned and looked at her with a nervous smile on his face. "So we're back home," he paused and looked at the clock on his dashboard. "And five minutes early so we have some time to spare before I walk you to your front door." They both laughed at his little joke. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Troy I really did," Taylor replied as she smiled at him. "You really know how to make a girl feel special."

"The only girl I want to make feel special is you." Troy stated smoothly as he looked at her with a wide smile on his face. "And I'm glad that my goal was accomplished tonight." He said as he leaned over and kissed her. Taylor immediately returned the kiss and wrapped her arms around Troy's neck. Troy smiled into the kiss just before he deepened it. After a few moments they pulled away from one another intent on catching their breaths and rested their foreheads together and closed their eyes while enjoying the last few moments of their evening.


End file.
